


Grave Robbers

by occultclysms



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Complicated Relationships, Dead People, Grave Robbers, M/M, Multi, Organized Crime, Partners in Crime, Past Abuse, Plot Twists, Polyamory, Road Trips, Slow Burn, they steal dead people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:34:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 44,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22183378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultclysms/pseuds/occultclysms
Summary: Kun is sick of his job. You can only look at dead people for so long before never wanting anything to do with them ever again. But before Kun can quit his job, he must repay his debts to Ten. Ten drags Kun on an adventure with his apprentice, Doyoung. But none of them could have predicted this.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Qian Kun
Comments: 15
Kudos: 54





	1. The Scarlet Rings

**Author's Note:**

> i would really like to thank my three lovely betas; isis, brooke and ella for helping me get through this 18k mess, but especially brooke for staying up to finish editing for me <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kun begins his quest to leave his job which turns out to be a lot more complicated than he thought

_ The grave is supposed to be the final destination for people, but sometimes, the postmortem peace is disrupted by others that don't belong. Graves have been robbed for all kinds of reasons, everything from ransom to cannibalism, though the most common reason throughout history has probably been for the money that people can get out of it. Throughout the late 1800s, people in the United States and England sold corpses to colleges for medical dissections. The people who practiced this came to be known as "resurrectionists." Enter the Scarlet Rings. The Scarlet Rings are the ones who always get blamed for any bodies that go missing from their graves. The Scarlet Rings started out as an official underground organization in 1878 by two best friends, Hojoon Kim and Youngmin Suh in Los Angeles, California. _

**_-Anonymous Writer, The Daily Tombstone_ **

**_Anonymous Writer has written many articles about The Scarlet Rings and has a degree in psychology._ **

  
═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

  
  


Qian Kun had always liked the phrase ‘fake it ‘til you make it.’ There are plenty of things he can’t do in life, but weakness wasn’t something he could afford to have in his line of work. Kun pushes his shoulders back and raises his chin high as he pushes open the door to his boss’s office. 

“Mr. Suh,” Kun says. Mr. Suh’s office has always made him feel uneasy. With blood-red walls and the dead glassy eyes of animals staring down at him never made Kun feel at home.

_ “Kun,” _ Mr. Suh says in his deep gravelly voice, “I’ve told you time and time again; call me Johnny.” Kun swallows thickly as Mr. Suh turns around in his chair to face him, slouched down with his hands together.

“I’m sorry, Mr. S-- Johnny.” Being on a first-name basis with Mr. Suh is quite low on the list of things that Kun wanted. Mr. Suh is one of those people Kun would hide from if he saw them in person. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Kun looks everywhere but in Mr. Suh’s eyes. He can feel those two dark eyes drilling holes in his skin. Kun makes eye contact with the lifeless deer head on the wall. Maybe he is imagining things, but that deer has fear in its eyes. “I want to quit.” And Mr. Suh laughs. He laughs like he’s just heard the funniest joke imaginable, but it’s hollow and is painful to listen to, like nails on a chalkboard.

The situation makes Kun nauseous beyond belief, he can feel his hands sweating as he brings them together behind his back. Thinking back, Kun can remember a time where he enjoyed the company of Mr. Suh. That was years ago, though, and both of them have changed and grown since then, only that in opposite directions. Kun thinks of them as two trees that are intertwined together, but Mr. Suh grew towards the darkness and Kun grew towards the light. 

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Mr. Suh says finally. “You want out now after I helped you—”

“I’m sorry Mr. Suh, but my debt is repaid to you. I want to know what is left before I can leave for good.” The air crackles with electricity; Mr. Suh can tell Kun is serious in his request.

As fast as the atmosphere shifted, it changes again. Mr. Suh looks careless, but Kun can see right through him. “If you say so,” Mr. Suh drawls. He pulls up Kun’s file, the typing breaking the painful silence. “Oh!” Kun can practically taste the smile Mr. Suh has. “Xiaodan, look at me when I’m speaking to you.” 

Searing pain shoots through Kun’s chest, he wills his eyes away from the deer's and to Mr. Suh’s. “You have no right to call me that,” he spits. Mr. Suh laughs.

“Anyway, you have outstanding debt to a  _ Ten _ . I haven’t seen anyone with this much debt to someone in at least five years; good luck paying it off.” Kun’s face scrunches up, he had forgotten all about that debt to Ten.

“If I pay off Ten’s debt, you’ll let me leave?” Kun clarifies. If Mr. Suh agrees on paper, then Kun is as good as free.

“Sure. But one caveat, if you fail to pay off Ten before the end of the year, you come back to me.” Kun freezes. So it is Mr. Suh that wants the upper hand here. But this is his only option and Ten is reasonable, kinda.

“Fine. Create a document to make it official; I’ll be back once I’ve spoken to Ten.” Turning on his heel, Kun leaves Mr. Suh’s office feeling both relieved and anxious.

Once outside, Kun pulls out his cell phone, finger hovering over Ten’s number. The cold November air bites at his nose and ears; he really doesn’t have much time. The phone rings for several painful seconds, and Kun’s mind swirls with what-ifs.

_ “Hello? Kun?”  _ Ten’s voice is static-y, but Kun has never been so happy to hear it.

“I need to pay off my debt to you.” Kun knew Ten didn’t like to have others pay off his debts. Ten likes to have plenty of people at his beck and call just in case.

_ “You know I don’t do that easily, right?” _ Kun sighs, he had a small hope that Ten had changed, but not.

“I know, but these are special circumstances.” The cold pierces through Kun’s blouse and he begins to pace around the parking lot. “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t need it.”

Ten is silent for a moment.  _ “Maybe we can work something out. Come down to La Vache Éméché at eight. Make sure to dress your best.”  _ And the line goes dead. Kun shoves his phone in his pocket and screams out into the night.

Fuck Ten. Fuck this job. Fuck  _ Johnny. _ If Ten wanted him to dress  _ nice _ , then he would fucking show up looking like hot shit. 

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun checks his watch; 7:53 pm. On the Lyft over here, Kun had checked what La Vache Éméché meant. Turns out it means ‘the tipsy cow’ in French. It honestly seemed fitting for the kind of place La Vache Éméché is. Kun walks up to the bouncer and is ready to show I.D, but the bouncer waves him on through with a “pretty girls get in for free.” With an eyelash bat and a smile, Kun leaves feeling annoyed.

Maybe he had gone a bit overboard with Ten’s request, but oh well. If his life is about to end as he knows it, he might as well live it up while he can. The low purple lights make it hard to see, but La Vache Éméché seems much more classy than the outside appears. Round circle booths and swirled marble floor with a well-stocked bar made the place seem pretty chill. Before Kun can send a text to Ten, someone bumps into him from behind.

“What the hell?” Kun exclaims, immediately thankful the guy didn’t spill any of his drink. The guy is the same height as Kun, but with the platform shoes, Kun is at least two inches taller. 

“I’m so sorry. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure.” Kun isn’t the type to turn down a free drink, especially if he’s in a shitty mood. “What’s your name?”

“Uhh, Doyoung.” Kun follows Doyoung over to the bar and sits down. 

The bartender comes over to them and asks what they would like. Kun says, “This guy,” Kun points at Doyoung. “Is going to be paying for my mojito.” The bartender laughs and brings him his order. 

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Doyoung points out.

“Does it really matter what my name is,” Kun muses. “I’ll let you keep your fantasy for a bit longer.” Kun grabs his drinks and stands up, ready to go find Ten.

“Wait—” Doyoung grabs Kun’s wrist. Kun looks at Doyoung and laughs. 

“You aren’t really my type, Doyoungie. Nice try though.” Kun pulls his wrist out of Doyoung’s grip. This is what he gets when he dresses femme. Kun had dressed in a sheer plaid top that clings to his skin with black pasties to cover his nipples and a black pleated skirt. And his personal favorite, half black half plaid platform shoes.

Kun spots Ten about twenty feet away and goes over to him. “Found you.” Ten looks up from his phone and nearly spits out his drink.

“This wasn’t what I expected,” Ten admits. “Good to see you though. Why do you want me to remove your debt now of all times?”

Kun sighs. “I want to leave the Rings, but Mr. Suh won’t let me leave until all of my debt is repaid. He said I have to clear my debt with you by the end of the year or I have to go back to working for him.” Saying ‘working for him’ isn’t a complete lie, but it isn’t the whole truth either. However, Ten doesn’t need to know that.

“Why would working for Johnny be so bad?” Ten pries. “You must not like him since you are the only person I know that still calls him Mr. Suh.”

“We have some history which I would rather leave in the past,” Kun replies cryptically. Doyoung makes his way over to their table and sits down next to Ten. Kun rolls his eyes. “Fuck off, Doyoung. I said I’m not interested.”

Ten laughs. “Oh, this is rich.” Doyoung tries to explain himself, but Ten doesn’t let him get a word in. “You two know each other? That’s great.” Kun frowns. “Alright, Kun. I know how you can repay your debt.”

“How does that relate to Doyoung at all?”

“Doyoung is my apprentice,” Ten reveals. Kun looks over to Doyoung for conformation, and he nods.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kun whines, putting his head on the table, while Ten laughs. 

“I’ve been meaning to take on a more extreme job to mix it up a bit, but I needed two helpers so to speak. And I’m so lucky to have gotten Doyoung here,” Ten grabs Doyoung’s cheek. “But I needed someone else and you’re the perfect person, Kun. You have experience, are good with computers and have no other option.”

“So what it is?” Doyoung asks, removing Ten’s hand from his cheek.

“Very simple. Travel cross-country doing jobs for each boss to win some brownie points and increase my influence.” Ten shrugs like this is nothing.

“That is fucking crazy, Ten,” Doyoung blurts out. “I have worked under you for eight months and we’ve only done around a dozen jobs. Do you really think it’s possible to do seven in under a month?”

“We have no other option, Doyoung. Now go get me another drink; I’m your senior,” Kun demands, hitting his cup on the table. Doyoung rolls his eyes but still goes to get Kun another drink. 

“Did you have to show your tattoo to get in?” Ten questions.

“Nope. Being attractive will get you far. You should take some notes,” Kun grumbles.

“I think I’m very attractive,” Ten retorts.

“You have a lesbian haircut,” Kun claps back, right as Doyoung slips back into their booth. After sitting up and blinking a few times, Kun sees that Doyoung has brought them three rounds of shots, two more mojitos and some other mixed drink for Ten. “Announcement; I love Doyoung.” Kun throws back two of the shots back to back. 

Once all the drinks have cleared, mostly by Kun, the table is much more relaxed. Doyoung is explaining his initiation story, as Kun leans heavily on Ten.

“Why did you even have an initiation anyway?” Kun interrupts. “Aren’t you like related to the guy that started this mess?”

“I mean I am related, but my family was like ‘if we had to do it so do you y’know,” Doyoung hiccups. Kun nods into Ten’s shoulder, craving to be back at home and in bed. Doyoung has his eyes trained on Kun’s bare thighs.

“Hey man, Kun’s eyes are up here,” Ten teases, and Doyoung flushes bright red. Kun sits up and rubs his eyes.

“Yeah, eyes are here.” Kun points at his own eye and leans into Doyoung’s space. Ten laughs as he takes the last sip of his beer. “Doyoung you are surprisingly firm,” Kun mumbles, fisting at Doyoung’s shirt.

“I’m not drunk enough for this,” Doyoung mutters. Doyoung glances down at Kun, who is curling up to him, and gives a look to Ten that says ‘help me,’ but Ten ignores him.

He casts a glance at Ten to try and save him from Kun curling up to him, but Ten either doesn’t understand it or doesn’t care. 

“Ten! More alcohol!” demands Kun from Doyoung’s neck. 

“I think you’ve had plenty to drink,” Ten says. “I’m grabbing some water because I have to drive home.” Kun rubs his face into the crook of Doyoung’s neck and mumbles something about waking up tomorrow.

“Do you have a ride home?” Doyoung asks.

“Nope,” Kun replies, popping the P. “I took Lyft here because I knew I wanted to get shit faced.”

“Do this often?” Doyoung jokes, rubbing Kun’s back softly.

“Never.” Kun hiccups and giggles. “I haven’t gone out like this for years.” Kun shifts in his spot and ends up completely sat in Doyoung’s lap. “You smell good; like a business person.” Doyoung nervously laughs. 

“Thanks?”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Alright, Kunnie. Time to get you home,” Ten greets. He seems mostly sober, except for the red on his cheeks and slight wobble. 

“Okay, but Doyoung has to carry me,” Kun says, wrapping himself tighter around Doyoung. Doyoung shakes his head in protest.

“Come on, Doyoung. You can do it,” Ten says as he sways. “I have the keys, so I’ll meet you by the car.” Ten leaves the two alone and Doyoung doesn’t know what to do. Kun starts to mouth at his neck.

“Kun. Kun. Kun,” Doyoung whines. “This isn’t a great time for this. Like at all.” Kun seemingly doesn’t care and bites down hard on a particularly sensitive spot, requiring Doyoung to bite down on his inner cheek to prevent any sounds from coming out. “Come on. Don’t you want to go home?”

“Yeah,” Kun mumbles. It takes some more coaxing but Doyoung is able to get Kun up from the table and out of the bar. Once outside in the parking lot, Kun begins to whine about how cold he is.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t bring a jacket,” Doyoung retorts, feeling the effects of the alcohol start to wear off.

“Yo!” Ten brings the duo’s attention over to his car. Since Kun had never seen the car before, he gets excited.

“Ten, can I drive? Pretty please?” Kun all but throws himself onto Ten, who nearly trips over himself from all the extra added weight.

“Alright.” Kun screams for joy. So loud, in fact, Doyoung has to cover his ears.

“Okay, hand over the keys.” Flexing his fingers in his outstretched hand, Kun pouts.

“Oh! You don't have the keys, do you? Then I guess you’re not driving,” Ten teases, giving Kun a boop on the nose. The whine Kun lets out is a sound that is familiar to any parent with a four-year-old who’s not getting their way. “Kun, calm down. You’ve had way too much to drink to even drive correctly.” Kun dramatically sighs and throws himself against the hood of Ten’s car. “The Necromancer!” screeches Ten, hands going to grasp at his hair.

“Nothing will happen to your car, Ten,” Doyoung reassures. Ten spins around to face Doyoung.

“You know very well that is not just a car,” Ten seethes. “Kun! Get off my car!”

“Fuck you too,” Kun retorts as he readjusts himself so he is leaning against the car rather than half on half off. “Maybe if you say please…”

“Alright, please get off my car before I kick your ass into the next week.” Ten crosses his fingers in the hope that Kun will do as he promised.

After pushing himself off the car, which elicits a scream from Ten, Kun manages to find himself in the arms of Doyoung once again. Ten is nearly in tears, leaning against his car apologizing.

“He’s so dramatic,” Doyoung whispers into Kun’s ear, who giggles. Several minutes later, Ten is ordering them into the backseat.

“You should be grateful I still have it in me to take you two home after this mess,” whines Ten as he climbs in the driver’s side door.

“Yes, Ten, we are  _ so _ grateful," Kun drawls. “Why can’t one of us ride shotgun? I wanted to stretch out but Doyoung is long.”

“Neither of you will ever ride in the front seat of this car unless we are fucking,” replies Ten. “That front seat is only for someone I’m really serious about, and that is not either of you.” To drive the point home, Ten points to his eyes, then points towards the rearview mirror where Kun is half asleep again.

Ten revs the engine, then is pulling out of the parking lot like the police are chasing him; which may very well be true. Adjusting the mirror, so he can see Doyoung and Kun a little better, Ten asks, “Where do you live, Kun? You’re getting dropped off first.”

“Your butt,” Kun replies, and Doyoung has to stifle a laugh which sadly doesn’t go unnoticed by Ten. Ten hisses but Doyoung doesn’t fear him anymore.

“Where do you live? For real,” Ten tries again.

“Over the hills and far away,” Kun mumbles as he shoves his face into Doyoung’s shirt. Running his hand up and down Kun’s back, Doyoung frowns.

“Maybe should just take him back to our place,” Doyoung suggests. “If we don’t know where he lives…”

“You’re probably right,” replies Ten, increasing his speed.

“Gonna be a speed demon again?” Doyoung snorts. Ten likes to treat speed limits as a challenge. After one trip to Germany, where there are no speed limits, he’s decided to imply the same rules in America. “I’m amazed you haven’t been arrested.”

“Me too, to be honest,” Ten reveals. “How embarrassing do you think Kun will be in the morning?”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun awakes in an unfamiliar bed. Taking a glance around, Kun finds more supernatural things then he expects this early in the morning. Movie posters, figurines, etc, all relating to classic monsters. Looking down, Kun is surprised to see himself in completely different clothes, though after a stretch he can feel the pasties still stuck to his skin. Kun stands up, rubs his eyes, and makes his way to what he hopes to be the bathroom.

“I can’t believe I went home with a dork last night,” Kun mumbles as he splashes some water on his face. “Though I might need to steal those sheets; those are another level of soft.” Pressing his hands into the counter as he looked into his own eyes, Kun sighs. “I look like shit.”

The bathroom door swings open to reveal Doyoung in a problematically similar set of pajamas as Kun's. Doyoung looks startled to see Kun. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be up already.” Then last night comes back to Kun.

“Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!” Kun screeches, drawing Ten’s attention in the kitchen. Doyoung is quick to Kun’s side, trying to calm him down.

“Good morning to you too, Kunnie,” Ten interrupts, way to cheery for whatever time it is.

“FUCK!” Kun yells as he grasps at his hair. Doyoung has his hand on Kun’s lower back, while Ten crosses his arms. “I only remember falling asleep in your car; nothing after that.”

“You wouldn’t tell us where you lived so we brought you home,” Ten explains, taking a step closer. “Doyoung got you into bed, and then slept on the couch.” Kun blushes, feeling bad that Doyoung had to sleep on the couch.

“It really wasn’t a big deal; Ten’s couch is like the size of a twin bed, so I slept just fine,” Doyoung explains, relieving some of Kun’s guilt. 

“Well I better get going,” Kun says, trying to escape the painfully awkward situation right as his stomach growls.

“I made breakfast, if you want,” Ten says nonchalantly. “Plus, you can borrow some of Doyoung’s clothes.”

“Why are you handing out my clothes? You have plenty of things you could let Kun borrow,” Doyoung points out.

“I’m tiny!” Ten protests. Kun rolls his eyes.

“It’s fine. I’m going to wear my clothes from yesterday, and wash these pajamas for you,” Kun decides. “And neither of you can change my mind. Thank you for the offer of breakfast though, Ten.” Kun slips out of the bathroom and back into Doyoung’s room, trying to find his things.

Doyoung stands in the doorway, as Kun slips the pajama shirt off. “It really isn’t a big deal y’know.” Doyoung’s voice scares Kun, causing him to pull the shirt close to his chest. “I’m not looking; I promise.”

“Okay,” Kun replies. “And I have some manners, so I would prefer to wash these and return them to you.”

“If you insist,” Doyoung mumbles. “Ten’s offering to drive you home if you want.

“I might take him up on that, purely for the sake of not being seen in an unfavorable state by whatever unlucky Lyft driver is stuck with me,” Kun mutters. 

“Yo! I got the details for our mission if you want to go over them now rather than later,” Ten greets, as he walks through the door.

“That would be nice,” Kun says. “Do you have some water? I’m not feeling too great after last night.”

With a glass of water and aspirin, Kun sits down on Ten’s giant couch. Doyoung is on his right and Ten is standing behind the coffee table. 

“We have a total of seven missions and since you can’t predict when people are going to drop dead we won’t know the exact case until a day or so before,” Ten explains. “But I have some details about our first case. Have you heard of Park Chanyeol and Kim Jongin?” Kun and Doyoung both shake their heads. “Well, they are mega-rich and there are rumors that Chanyeol is about to die.”

“What if he doesn’t die?” Doyoung asks.

“We will either get a new case or y’know…” Ten trails off.

“Nope nope nope. No murder. You two are welcome to kill off a billionaire, but I will not,” Kun protests.

“Sucks because if he doesn’t die by December 5th and there are no other famous dead people in that time, he’s getting the ax,” Ten remarks, making the gesture for death with his hand.

“What day is it right now?” Kun asks, hoping for as much time as possible for Chanyeol to die.

“Today is November 26th, 2022,” Doyoung recites, after looking at his watch.

“We’re going to have to kill him, aren’t we,” Kun sighs.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

On the morning of December 1st, Kun is helping himself to a bowl of cereal and watching the news. Every day since he returned from Doyoung and Ten’s place he’s been watching, hoping for Chanyeol to be pronounced dead. There were arguably some moral qualms with wishing someone dead, but now is not the time for those.

_ “Last night at around 11 pm Chanyeol Park, husband to Jongin Kim was pronounced dead by Oakmont Mortuary. Due to the family’s wishes, a small burial will happen sometime this afternoon. Jongin Kim says he is sad about the loss of his husband but knows that he is in a better place now—” _

Kun has to turn off the news and pours out his cereal. “And this is why I hate my job,” he mumbles, feeling his tattoo burn a hole in his lower back. His phone rings and he is hesitant to answer it.

“Hello?” Kun says without bothering to look at the caller I.D.

“Greetings, Xiaodan,” as if his morning couldn’t get any worse. “I trust that you have seen the news.”

“Yes, Mr. Suh,” Kun replies robotically.   


“I expect you at my office in an hour.” Before Kun can even reply, the line goes dead. The grossest feeling fills Kun. He runs to his bathroom and leans over the toilet, letting everything out of his system.

After drinking a glass of water, Kun can’t help but cry. He dries his tears on his sleeve and heads back to his bedroom. Walking into his closet, Kun can’t seem to find anything that will help with his mood. Everything is too plain or way too much for an official business meeting. Kun settles for black cargo pants with red accents and a black and white striped shirt with a black tee over it saying demon in red old style font.

After a moment of deliberation, Kun adds a touch of eyeliner to complete his look with the logic of ‘fake it ‘til you make it.’ He can’t afford to not have confidence on a day like today.

Twenty minutes later, Kun is sitting outside Mr. Suh’s office playing Candy Crush. After losing level 428 for the umpteenth time, he gives up with distracting himself.

“Glad to see you’re on time,” Mr. Suh says as he opens his door. “You can wait in my office if you’d prefer. I’m sure that Ten and Doyoung will be here shortly.”

“No, thank you,” Kun replies curtly, crossing his legs.

“As you wish, Xiaodan.” Before Mr. Suh slithers back into his office, he says, “You look lovely by the way.” The way he says ‘lovely’ makes Kun’s skin crawl. Thankfully, Kun doesn’t have to sit in the feeling for long, as Ten and Doyoung show up.

Ten is dressed in form-fitting dress pants, a white patterned shirt with the top three buttons undone and a red velvet suit jacket. Doyoung, on the other hand, is dressed in a skin-tight black turtleneck and grey plaid pants with a leather jacket over his arm.

“Good morning,” Ten chirps. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” Kun mumbles. “You guys look good as well.”

“Oh wow! High praise,” teases Ten, and Kun glares at him. “Let’s go inside.” Kun follows Ten and Doyoung into Mr. Suh’s office. There are three leather chairs in front of Mr. Suh’s desk and Kun picks the one on the right because that one is the farthest from Mr. Suh.

“Greetings, gentlemen,” Mr. Suh smiles. “Luckily for us, Mr. Park died before we had to intervene.” Kun can tell Mr. Suh is lying through his teeth. Mr. Suh would want as many things to happen as possible, so as to slow the start of this mission; all to get Kun back. “I trust the three of you can get your things together quickly and be on the road before the third. The car you will be using is out in front.”

“Is that all, Johnny?” Ten asks. “I’m itching to get on the road.”

“Yeah. You’re all professionals, so you can go. But I’d like to talk to Kun for a moment,” Mr. Suh says. Ten and Doyoung leave the room along with all the blood in Kun’s body.

“What do you want, Mr. Suh?” Kun asks, not meeting his eyes, instead, focusing on the back of the computer monitor.

“I just want to wish you good luck on your trip and to remind you that this really is in Ten’s hands. So if you’re desperate you might have to employ some of your  _ techniques, _ ” Mr. Suh suggests, and Kun’s stomach turns for the millionth time today.

“That is all in the past, so I suggest you forget about it,” Kun bites back tears of shame.

“That’s not what these photos say,” Mr. Suh taunts, producing a stack of polaroids Kun thought were gone off the face of the earth.

“Where did you get those?” Kun asks, voice rising in pitch.

“Doesn’t matter. These are to prevent you from running away or anything else dumb.” Mr. Suh lays the photos down face up on the desk, bringing back several uncomfortable memories.

“You don’t have family members to threaten me with, so you use  _ these _ ,” Kun hisses. “This isn’t the way to try and get me back y’know. This only pushes me away farther, which you would know if you had any common sense left in your fucking brain. You’re so used to getting your way, and the one time someone tells you no—”

“Watch your mouth, Xiaodan,” Mr. Suh snarls. “And sit down; I’m still your superior.” In his anger, Kun didn’t notice he is standing over Mr. Suh’s desk. He obeys.

“I’d rather kill myself than be stuck as your servant forever,” Kun snaps, and it is satisfying to see the fear in Mr. Suh’s eyes, if only for a moment.

Mr. Suh pulls out his phone. “Bring Doyoung back in here.” Kun frowns. Why would Doyoung need to come back in. Doyoung enters but a moment later.

“Yes, Johnny?” Doyoung inquires.

“You have an extra job; see that no harm comes to Kun.” Mr. Suh hasn’t had the time to compose himself, so Doyoung gets a taste of the real Mr. Suh.

“But what we are doing—”

“I’m aware of what you are doing. And I have told you to keep Kun safe. I’m sure you would hate for something to happen to Jungwoo.” Doyoung nods. “Now both of you get out of my office.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Neither Kun nor Doyoung says a word about the exchange in the office. Kun wants to know if Doyoung saw the photos on the desk clear enough to know it’s him, and who this ‘Jungwoo’ is. Probably not a joyfriend if Doyoung was flirting with Kun only a week ago. Could he be a close friend maybe? It can’t be family because Doyoung’s family holds equal status to Mr. Suh’s.

Kun is dragged out of his thoughts by his doorbell ringing incidentally. “Coming!” he calls. Swinging open the front door, Kun greets Ten and Doyoung who have dressed more appropriately than before. Doyoung kept his turtleneck but switched to some form-fitting pants. Ten completely changed his outfit into a sleeveless top and dark leggings.

“I’m gonna grab my bag then we can go,” Kun says before he’s dashing off into his room. He stares at his trusty knife for a second before deciding better safe than sorry and slips the belt on then sticks his knife in the holster. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“You have no pictures, which is interesting,” Ten comments.

“I have no need for pictures.”

“Nice knife.”

“Thanks. Are we going to go now?” Kun asks, feeling mildly awkward with others in his apartment for the first time in years.

“Yeah. Do you want me to take your suitcase for you?” Doyoung offers. Kun knew this would be a long trip, so he packed a large suitcase  _ and _ a duffel bag. 

“That would be nice.” Kun gives Doyoung a strained smile and locks his front door. The trio takes the elevator down to the front of Kun’s apartment. “I hate this stupid painting.” Kun points at a painting of a possum eating a person’s eye all done in shades of blue. 

“You would think they would have better taste,” Doyoung agrees. “You also live in a nice apartment complex, so it makes even less sense.”

Walking outside, Kun sees a beat-up white mini-van, which is weird, but then, Ten walks over to it and opens the back seat. “Get in, guys.” Upon seeing Kun’s face, Ten adds, “I know, this isn’t my first choice either, but this is all they would give me.” Makes sense. Mr. Suh is not pleased with Kun, to say the least, so of course, he would try to sabotage him with a car that is at least ten-years-old and covered in scrapes and scratches. “Put your stuff in the backseat because we need the trunk open for Chanyeol.”

“What?” Kun says, dumbfounded. Normally there were much more professional ways of transporting dead people. Ten opens up the trunk and points at the small handle.

“In there is a freezer that is 66 inches, and that’s how we will transporting Chanyeol. But this is an older model so it only has the top close,” Ten explains. “It’s pretty wide though because there are no back seats.” Kun nods and places his things in the back, so as not to block the freezer opening.

“Shotgun,” Kun says before Doyoung can climb into the car.

“But I’m like already here,” Doyoung whines.

“I’m older and more experienced than you,” Kun counters. Doyoung sighs, and begrudgingly gets in the backseat, while Ten hops in the driver's seat.

“Alright, saddle up lads,” Kun rolls his eyes at Ten’s behavior. “Just because this car sucks doesn’t mean I’ll drive any safer.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Doyoung grumbles. “Where are we going?”

“We are going to Oakmont Mortuary,” Kun explains. “That's Chanyeol’s family cemetery. I’m honestly surprised they buried him so fast.” Ten hits the gas and they go shooting out the apartment complex and into the night.

“I’ve heard a fair bit about Chanyeol,” Ten reveals. “He was essentially Jongin’s sugar daddy. I don’t know how much love was really involved in their relationship.”

“Wouldn’t they at least get closer over time to have some sort of relationship?” asks Doyoung.

“I don’t know. Whatever the case, Chanyeol was 25 years Jongin’s senior, and now Jongin is the sole heir to a shit ton of money,” Ten points out. “Maybe they got close, but money might have helped Jongin look past the age difference.”

“Speaking of; how old are you, Kun? I know Ten is like a month younger than me..” Doyoung questions.

“I’ll be 27, January 1st,” Kun says.

“I can’t believe I’m the youngest here,” Ten whines. “At least I’m the most experienced.”

“Really? Could have fooled me,” Kun remarks causing Doyoung to laugh. “According to the map, we will get there by 11:49 pm, but with the way Ten is driving it will be more like 11:40.”

“How much you wanna bet I can make it there before 11:30?” Ten smirks. Kun glances at the clock; currently, it’s 11:12.

“I’ll bet you, but I’m not sure what you would want,” Kun comments.

“I know what I want; I want a kiss and video footage of you calling me the most handsome man on Earth.” Kun rolls his eyes again. Ten could be ridiculous sometimes. 

“Alright. I want you to buy me a new pair of platform shoes; I know you can afford it,” Kun says.

“It’s a bet.” It’s like a flip is switched. Ten goes from 10 miles per hour above the speed limit to 30 in less than ten seconds. Doyoung and Kun are forced back against their seats.

“This was not a wise choice, Kun,” Doyoung comments. “Ten is fierce when it comes to betting. I’ve learned this the hard way as well.”

“What did you lose?” Kun asks, mildly intrigued how someone like Doyoung lost a bet when he seems so calculating.

“Same punishment as you. The only thing Ten likes more than himself is people telling him how great he is,” Doyoung snorts. “So don’t feel too bad when you lose.”

“I really don’t think Ten can win this,” Kun mutters, sparing a glance at Ten and then at the speedometer. Now they were up to 80 miles per hour and a car like this can’t handle that consistently. A jolt of fear runs through Kun, what if the car stops working and they are set behind schedule? Mr. Suh would love that— Now isn’t the time to think of him.

“Anyway, what are we doing with Chanyeol?” Doyoung asks.

“We are ransoming him back to Jongin,” Kun explains. “Even if they weren’t that close, for public appearance sake and because Chanyeol has some living family, Jongin will pay the ransom. It isn’t even that much of Chanyeol’s fortune; Jongin will still have plenty of money left over for the rest of his life.”

“Guys!” Ten exclaims. “We’re here, and what time is it? 11:26. I will accept that kiss now Kun.” Ten throws the car into park and crosses his arms looking extremely smug.

“I told you so,” mumbles Doyoung.

“I’m not kissing you right now,” Kun sighs. “But as I am a man of my word, I will.” Ten looks disappointed but nods anyway.

“Okay, Doyoung. You ready?” Ten smiles and Kun can feel the excitement radiating off him in waves. Ten must be the type who actually enjoys stuff like this. Kun still hasn’t figured out what type Doyoung is yet though.

“Yeah. Kun?”

“Almost.” Kun pulls out his industrial fancy laptop and opens Terminal. “Give me like two minutes to disable the security cams, and then you two can go. Fair warning there are guards at the gates, so to get in you should jump the fence. I’ll come in the gate once you give me the cue.” Kun types like a madman. This is the only part of the job he enjoys. Being able to make things happen all from his computer is a special feeling. “They change shifts at 2 am, so be done before then. Is one of you wearing a headset to talk to me?”

“I got mine,” Doyoung replies. “I also have the supplies in my bag to dig up Chanyeol.”

“Great,” Kun says as he slips on his headset and turns it on. “Good luck, guys.” And they are gone. Kun maneuvers himself into the driver's seat and moves the car under a tree and out of any security guard’s sight. He has to monitor everything until the cue. Then he can get as close to the actual grave as possible, so Doyoung and Ten don’t have to take a 200 lbs dead man down a steep hill.

Glancing at the cameras, Kun can see a guard going in the direction of Doyoung and Ten. Due to the set up of the graves, they have no good hiding spots, so Kun does something very, very stupid. He jumps out of the car, runs across the street, and jumps the fence into the cemetery. He isn’t dressed ideally for this kind of behavior, but YOLO.

The guard that was going to find Doyoung and Ten finds Kun instead, who’s hunched over and out of breath. “Sir, what are you doing here after hours? The cemetery is closed, Sir.” The guard is getting closer, and Kun had two options A; lie to the guard and make up a story or B; run. He chose the latter of course. Now, cemetery security guards generally don’t have to run (bodies aren’t trying to escape after all), so Kun can outpace him. He follows Kun away from the terrible twosome until Kun reaches a large willow tree. He pulls himself up into the branches before the guard can see him.

_ “Why are you breathing so heavily?”  _ Doyoung asks.

“I didn’t even know my mic was on,” Kun whispers back. The guard has passed him, and it's a good 50 feet away, still looking around for Kun. “But a guard was near you, so uhhh. I intervened, and now I’m in a tree. How far are you guys?”

_ “Are you serious?” _ Kun doesn’t respond.  _ “Oh my god, you are. Wow. We have a hole and are currently getting the rope around the coffin to remove it.” _

“That’s good at least. I’m gonna make my way back to the car.” Kun lowers himself out of the tree and onto the ground. He winces at the crunch of the bark and leaves, but he can’t really help it.

There’s no way to check the cameras from here so Kun just has to hope for the best. First, he tries to be sneaky and quiet, which works for all of two minutes before a different guard is cornering him.

“Fuck,” Kun mutters, and he can hear that Doyoung is talking, but he can’t hear the words he’s saying as he runs. Kun runs like there is no tomorrow, and if this mission goes sideways in any form there won’t be a tomorrow for him.

Once at the fence, Kun is slowed down by having to figure out how to get over it. He gets himself over the top and is about to drop himself the three feet to the ground until he’s tasered. The pain is instantaneous and causes him to fall to the ground, which hurts but not as much as the excess electrical energy in his body.

The guard is standing on the other side of the fence and mumbles a ‘shit,’ before running towards the gate to catch Kun. Every muscle in Kun’s body screams, but he forces himself up and off the ground. The pain makes it hard to think, but Kun has no other option but to move.

_ “Kun! What the fuck is going on?”  _ Doyoung demands.

“I kinda got tasered.” Kun could literally see the car this is great.

_ “What do you mean kinda?”  _ Doyoung screeches. Kun can hear Ten shushing him in the background.

“It’s fine. Are you guys almost done? I’m in the car.” Kun slips in the driver's seat and tries to calm down. To ground himself, he puts on his seatbelt. 

_ “We have Chanyeol. Come on up.” _ Kun glances at the clock; 1:27 am. How did time fly by so fast? No time to dwell on it. After grabbing his laptop and opening the gates, Kun hightails it into the cemetery. The guards chase him, but it’s no use. Kun pulls up as close to Chanyeol’s gravesite without driving onto any other graves.

Ten and Doyoung hobble to the car while carrying a duffel bag full of Chanyeol. Kun pops the trunk and the terrible twosome hop in while still holding the body. 

“Close the back, Kun, we’ll rearrange in a bit,” Ten calls, wary of the guards starting to reach the top of the hill. Kun does as he asked and whips a U-turn that’s bound to leave tire marks. “Since the guards are blocking the road, you have to drive on the grass.”

“I hate my fucking job,” Kun mumbles, but once again follows Ten’s instructions. Even though Kun isn’t religious by any means, he still says a prayer for the graves he is trashing. Now he understands where the minivan got all the scrapes and dents. The guards have realized what’s up and have shut the gates. “Guys, what do I do? The guards shut the gate.”

“Open it?” Doyoung says but sounds more like a question.

“They are standing in front of it.”

“Charge!” screams Ten, still high on adrenaline from their adventure. Kun revs the engine as a warning, and some of the guards back off. He tries to open the gate from his laptop, and it gets most of the way open. Stepping on the gas, Kun gets the car through the gates, but he snapped off the right side mirror.

“What the fuck?” Doyoung screeches. “Just happened?” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’ve done several jobs with Ten and none have gone that bad before. So once again, what the fuck happened?”

Kun continues to drive at reckless speeds, sticking to back roads. “I don’t know. There were more guards than I expected. There should have been two at the gate and maybe one patrolling, but that was at least six.”

“Do you think someone tipped them off?” Doyoung suggests.

“Almost no one even knows we are out here, who would it be?” Ten snaps. “I’m tired, and it doesn’t matter if someone tipped them off. They can’t know our next job unless they are one of the three of us. I made sure to keep it need-to-know. Now Kun, since we have a dead person we are staying at a hotel tonight. Head to 176 Vermont Road; an old friend of mine owns a place there and won’t ask any questions.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun parks in front of a place called Motel 17. Now, he wasn’t going to judge it by the outside too much, but the owners might need to do a bit of restoration here and there. Peeling paint, graffiti, and garbage were big turn offs for Kun, but maybe it’s intentional. Kun takes a closer look and sees two red interlocking circles on the wall. You wouldn’t notice them in the mix unless you were looking for them. With a frown, Kun pops the trunk, and goes to the back of the car.

“What are we doing with Chanyeol here?” Kun asks. The body was at a weird angle because Chanyeol was too tall to fit flat.

“We have to slide him into the freezer,” Ten says, getting out of the car and letting half of the body fall onto Doyoung. Doyoung gags and carefully nudges Chanyeol’s corpse onto the floor of the car. “This is a group effort, so I will hold the freezer as you two slide him in.” Kun doesn't feel like arguing with Ten at 2 am, so he begrudgingly grabs what he hopes is the feet end of Chanyeol, while Doyoung got the head and shoulders. Ten pops the freezer open. “Kun, slide the feet first.” Lowering his end carefully, Kun gets the feet into the freezer. Doyoung pushes the body in deeper until the head can rest against the other side.

“Who says you can't stick a 6’1 man in a 5’6 car freezer?” Doyoung asks rhetorically, brushing off his hands and seeming pleased. So he also likes his job; just not to the extent Ten does. What was Kun expecting, honestly? Doyoung has been literally raised into this lifestyle.

Ten closes and locks the freezer for safety. You never know when someone will break into your car. “Grab your bags and head inside,” Ten commands. Kun grabs his laptop and stuffs it in his duffel bag, which was still in the front seat. “Y’know, I’m extremely impressed with you, Kun.” Kun spins around to see Ten waiting for him with his things and Kun’s suitcase.

“Oh. Thanks, I guess. Thanks for grabbing my bag.” Kun slips his duffel over his shoulder and grabs his suitcase, ready to conk out in bed

“I know you don’t like this job at all, but for what it’s worth you’re really good at it,” Ten says softly, looking much sweeter in the moonlight.

“Thank you,” Kun mumbles feeling shy for more than one reason. Part of Kun likes the praise, but another part of him doesn’t like being praised for something so morally wrong.

“Don’t think too hard for right now,” Ten says, drawing Kun’s attention back to him. “There is plenty of time for thinking, but right now we have stuff to do.” Kun nods and locks the car; it may be mirrorless, covered in grass, with more paint scratches than years Kun has been alive, but there is still a chance someone could break-in.

Kun follows Ten into the lobby where Doyoung is standing by the front desk talking to a dark-haired boy Kun doesn’t recognize.

“Mark,” Ten cheers. “It’s been so long since I’ve last seen you! Have you graduated already?” Ten envelops Mark into a bone-crushing hug.

“Ahh, Ten. It’s so great to see you again,” Mark rejoices. “And yes I did graduate; degree of biochemistry ready to start my official medical training.”

“Did you get your tattoo?” Ten asks and Mark lifts his shirt to show a rings tattoo right under his heart, and Kun’s blood runs cold. Does Mark realize what a mistake he’s making? Or is he like Ten and actually loves this?

“I had to get it somewhere people won’t really see, y'know. Anyway, I’m sure Jeno would love to say hello, but he’s actually kicking out a couple upstairs for being too loud.” Mark giggles. “They were having too much fun, and I don’t think Jeno wants to throw out another mattress.”

Ten laughs. “Oh, I’m sure. I’ll try to catch up with him a bit in the morning. I need a room before we go though.” Mark seems to finally remember that there are other people around and blushes.

“Okay. I would give you each separate rooms, but we are pretty much all booked, and I wouldn’t recommend the room Jeno just cleared. So you guys have to share the room we keep reserved for guests if that’s alright,” Mark explains looking a bit sheepish.

“That’s fine,” Ten replies. Mark hands over the room key and gives them a little wave before slipping into another room. The trio take the elevator up to the third and top floor. Ten leads them down the outdoor hallway to room 69.

“They really reserve room 69?” Kun snorts. “Color me: mildly amused.”

“Ten!” And then a blonde, buff guy is latching himself onto to Ten. Kun quickly scans him, and is relieved to see no Scarlet Rings tattoos. “Long time no see. I’ve missed you. I’m sure you already ran into Mark.”

“Nice to see you too, Jeno.” Ten seems so genuinely fond of these two guys, which is pretty out of character for someone who makes a point not to get close to others.

“Let’s catch some soon, I’ve got to help Mark with something,” Jeno says. “Have a nice threesome, Ten.”

“Oh but we—” Kun tries to explain.

“No need to be ashamed. You aren’t the first guys Ten has brought around here before,” Jeno reveals, and Kun’s eyes turn to saucers.

“Well, goodnight.” Jeno gives them a final wink before leaving. Ten unlocks the door quickly and the three of them pile inside.

“That was something,” Doyoung mumbles. “And I don’t know about you but I want to take a shower, so yeah.” Doyoung grabs his toiletries and some pajamas and heads into the bathroom; locking the door behind him. Kun unpacks a few of his things taking in his surroundings. For a trashy motel, it is pretty nice. Light yellow wallpaper, two low to the ground brown chairs, a king-sized bed with nightstands on either side. 

“About that kiss, Kun,” Ten smirks, and Kun has to fight the urge to roll his eyes. The shower is already running and Kun can make out the soft sounds of Doyoung singing.

“I saved your ass though. I shouldn’t have to kiss you,” Kun counters, leaning against the suitcase stand ever so slightly.

“That has nothing to do with the deal though,” Ten retorts, making himself comfortable in one of the chairs. Deep down, Kun knows it was a fair bet and he lost, so he should suck it up and get this over with.

“Fine, but just one.” Kun points his finger to emphasize his point. He walks over to Ten and puts himself at eye level to him. Ten sits up, so their faces are almost brushing. He smiles and lets his hand graze across Kun’s cheek, taking hold on the back of his neck before connecting their lips. And Kun really was going to only kiss Ten once, but Ten is a great kisser. That wasn’t up for debate, but Kun would never tell Ten that. Ten’s lips are soft against Kun's, moving lazily like he has all the time in the world. Kun kisses back a bit harsher, trying to get his money’s worth. Ten wraps his arms around Kun’s waist, pulling him closer. When Ten hits a particularly sensitive spot in Kun’s mouth, Kun moans. That shocks him out of whatever trance this is. 

Separating their lips, Kun says, “That was more than enough.” He removes himself from Ten’s hold and goes back over to his suitcase to pull out his toiletries and pajamas. 

“I don’t think that will be our last kiss, Kunnie,” Ten says, smiling like he’s on cloud nine.

“Don’t sound so confident. I have learned from my mistakes and won’t be betting you anything like that anytime soon,” Kun retorts.

“We’ll see about that,” Ten counters, as Doyoung leaves the bathroom. “I’ll take a shower now; sorry Kun.” Doyoung is already dressed and is fully content to fall right into bed, giving Kun a few moments to think over his first full day working with these two before falling in beside Doyoung.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun would have preferred to wake up to the sun shining in through the curtains, but you can never get what you want. Instead, Kun wakes up by falling off the bed. There was no couch, so Ten had wormed his way in between Doyoung and Kun.

“It’s too early for this,” Kun mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His whole body is sore beyond belief. That’s what he gets for running around like a madman and getting tased. He pads over to the bathroom, trying not to wake Ten or Doyoung, who have gotten much more comfortable since Kun was kicked out of bed.

Kun flicks on the shower and let it heat up before stripping off his dirty clothes, and takes a quick moment to reflect over himself in the mirror. Normally, Kun isn’t one for pouring over every flaw in his person, but he can’t help but pay attention to the bruises and cuts blossoming all over his arms and chest. Ah, the price he is willing to pay for freedom. A nasty thought bursts into Kun’s mind; this isn’t even the worst he’s looked because of this stupid, stupid job. With one last look, Kun steps into the shower.

Keeping everything fast to avoid focusing on his past, Kun instead thinks about how nice the shampoo and conditioner is here. For a run-down motel in Los Angeles, Motel 17 has truly nailed it in terms of shower accessories.

“Kun!” Ten pounds on the bathroom door, successfully ending Kun’s lighthearted enjoyment of body wash.

“What is it, Ten? I’m in the shower, so this better be important,” Kun calls back, struggling to make himself heard over the water.

“I want to shower too and we have to leave soon.” Bullshit, they aren’t really on any schedule. Kun is, but Ten and Doyoung aren’t. And if Kun can afford to have a shower then so can Ten. 

“No we don’t, so fuck off.” There’s silence for a moment before Ten is pounding even harder on the door. “Fuck,” Kun grumbles from the shower. This wasn’t even supposed to be a long shower, and it really isn’t. Kun has been in here for 7 minutes, but would have really liked a solid 12, maybe even 15.

Turning the water off and drying off, Kun wraps a towel around his waist not bothering to cover his chest. Opening the door to Ten mid pound is mildly satisfying if only to see his annoyance be replaced with confusion for a mere moment.

Ten locks himself in the bathroom 10 seconds later, leaving Kun to Doyoung, who wolf whistles. Kun rolls his eyes and says, “Like what you see?”

“More just impressed you got injured so much. You were supposed to stay in the car, yet you have the most damage,” Doyoung remarks.

“Ugh, tell me about it. My whole body aches, and it’s not even the good ache you get from dancing,” Kun goes over to his bag and pulls out some clothes to wear today.

“You dance?”

“Not anymore. And even when I did, it was just casually.” Kun drops his towel, trying very hard not to think about the fact that Doyoung may be looking. Kun quickly steps into his boxers and slips his jeans on. But of course, the universe was not done with Kun today. When he bends over he lets out a whine due to the pain all over his body. 

“Do you want me to rub your back for you? My younger brother would always like when I rubbed his back after soccer,” Doyoung comments.

“Jungwoo?” Kun can’t help it. He’s too smart for his own good as his mother used to say. Doyoung who’s laying on the bed tenses up. “You don’t have to tell me. I just want to know.”

“Yeah, he’s my brother.” This comes as a shock to Kun.

“Then why is Mr. Suh threatening to hurt him?” Kun doesn’t mean to sound pushy, but he does and Doyoung doesn’t like it.

“Why do call Johnny Mr. Suh? Why do you look like you’re on the verge of tears whenever he speaks to you? Why do you have to be so goddamn nosy?” Doyoung snaps and Kun can’t tell if it’s perfect timing or the worst possible timing, but Ten steps out of the bathroom. Doyoung is off the bed in a second, and the bathroom door is once again, locked.

Ten makes no move to talk to Kun and Kun feels a wave of shame hit him. Why is he so nosy? He has secrets, and so does everyone else. Kun frowns as he slips his shirt on and plops himself on the bed.

“Jungwoo is a very touchy subject with Doyoung, so I would suggest you drop it,” Ten says, already dressed in a red silk button-up with a black choker and tight black slacks. Kun makes no comment just ‘mmph’s into the sheets. “Are you making the burner call or is Doyoung?”

Kun lifts his face from the bed to say, “I generally don’t do them, but if it is necessary I can.” Back to the sheets for a few more minutes. 

It truly is as if the universe wants to get even with some crime in Kun’s past life because he cannot seem to catch a break. Doyoung emerges from the bathroom fully dressed. 

“I can make the call, Ten.” Doyoung extends his hand and Ten throws the phone to him, giving Kun a moment to notice how nice Doyoung’s hands are. Arguably not the best time for that, but whatever.

“Come on, Kun. Hop up,” Ten says, like nothing weird happened. Kun has to forcibly remove himself from the sheets but nonetheless rolls out of bed. “Make sure you have all of your belongings. We won’t be coming back to this room.” Kun furrows his eyebrows but nods anyway. Generally, they only had to clear out a room on an especially dangerous mission. This one has been annoying so far; Kun’s bruises would tell you that. But whatever, it’s Ten’s call here.

Kun shoves his clothes back into his bag and takes it into the bathroom to retrieve his toothbrush. While the door is mostly shut, Kun hears a whisper from Ten to Doyoung along the lines of, “Are you okay?” That only furthers the itch in Kun’s mind about Jungwoo. Honestly, he should drop it because he should keep out of others’ business and pushing will just affect their job.

Ten and Doyoung lead Kun out of the room and down the outdoor stairs. Kun hadn’t bothered to check the time before, but it can’t be later than 9 am, if the white sky and winds are to be believed. Ten shoos Doyoung and Kun to the car and throws the keys at Doyoung, so someone can unlock the car.

Neither of them says a word. Kun wraps his arms tighter around him and bites his lip, feeling guilty again. Kun begins to say, “I’m sorry—” But Doyoung beats him to it.

“I’m sorry, Kun. I was out of line. You pushed a button you didn’t know was there, and I immediately went below the belt,” Doyoung confesses, not making eye contact with Kun directly. Kun stops walking and stares at Doyoung.

“You have the right to be mad. I knew what I was saying was wrong, but I can’t help it sometimes. Curiosity is how I got here, and it will be how I leave." That phrase has a double meaning to it. Kun was a curious child and it only led him to the top of the class. Go figure that teachers like eager students, but it has a much darker twist. Mr. Suh is the one to lure Kun into the Scarlet Rings, a man of smiles, shiny hair, and just a tad of dorkiness. That life appealed to Kun too much and he turned away from what he knew in favor of the unknown. And that same curiosity would either get Kun killed or help him find a way out. Maybe he had found both.

“We were both at fault, but let’s move past it for the sake of our jobs, okay?” Doyoung looks much smaller than he has seemed before, or maybe Kun is just now noticing that under the sarcasm, Doyoung isn’t as confident as an outsider would assume.

“Yeah. Okay,” Kun is about to keep walking, but Doyoung is pulling at his long, striped sleeves. “Do you need something else, Doyoung?” Kun tries to keep the curiosity out of his voice for fear of being pushy again.

Doyoung flushes and his gaze snaps to Kun’s again. “Oh, it’s dumb.” Kun glances through Doyoung’s body language, and maybe he’s completely wrong, but it seems like Doyoung needs a hug. Taking a step forward, and glancing at Doyoung’s soft, round eyes, is all Kun needs before his arms are wrapped around Doyoung’s torso. That moment where Doyoung does nothing is terrifying until his arms lightly touch Kun’s waist, then becoming surer and even pulling him a little closer. Doyoung pulls away first, and says, “Thank you, Kun. I feel better now.” And Kun feels better too. Hugs are great ways to resolve fights and tensions and Kun is glad that Doyoung feels the same. Kun smiles a genuine smile, a surprise to himself, to be honest. 

If Doyoung sees Kun smiling the rest of the way to car, he says nothing. Doyoung pops the trunk, and they place their bags in the back. Kun hesitates, before opening the front passenger door. “How mad do you think Ten would be if I rode shotgun?”

“Very mad,” Doyoung retorts. “But since I’m calling, why don’t you drive and I’ll ride shotgun, so Ten is forced into the backseat?”

“I like the way you think, Doyoung. Hand over the keys.” Doyoung drops the keyring into the outstretched palm of Kun, who’s hand tightens around the keys. Kun dashes over to the driver’s side, eager to piss Ten off.

In the driver's seat, Kun slips on his seatbelt, starts the ignition, and cranks up the heater. Doyoung does the same on his right. “It’s such a strange feeling to be in the front seat, even though I used to all the time in high school because Jungwoo is two years younger and I would flex my age and always ride shotgun, making him sit in the back.” Doyoung has a far off smile on his face, not even looking straight ahead, clearly a world away.

Ten screaming outside of the car breaks Doyoung’s reverie and the blood drains from his face. “Forget that I said that,” Doyoung whispers. Ten is now on the driver’s side, looking livid.

Kun rolls down the window, casually. “Can I help you, Tennison?” Kun has to squint at Ten since the light of the sky is right behind him.

“Get out of the car, Kun.”

“Snooze, ya lose,” Kun replies and rolls up the window without another word. Doyoung looks over in horror at Kun who shrugs. “I have no fear of Ten.”

“But aren’t you like, in debt to him?”

“Yes, but I have a backup if Ten doesn’t cooperate.” That isn’t a hundred percent true, but Doyoung doesn’t need to know that. If Ten fucks him over, Kun will kill himself. Not the best backup plan at all. Kun wouldn’t call himself suicidal, but desperate. This whole mess is more than enough evidence of that.

Ten slides open the backseat door in a flurry, sitting down with anger rolling off him in waves. Kun adjusts the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Ten. “People don’t challenge your authority enough.” Ten is smart enough to make no comment.

Kun reves out of the parking lot, and starts along the road, waiting for Doyoung to pull out the burner phone. Doyoung’s fingers are a little shaky, but he pops open the flip phone. “What number am I calling?” Doyoung asks.

“Ten, be a dear and open that case file from my backpack,” Kun smiles. Ten sticks his tongue out at Kun but does as he says anyway. As Ten reads the numbers, Doyoung presses the matching buttons. “Be sure to put your seatbelt on, Ten. You’re not the only one that can drive absurdly fast.” Ten chooses to ignore Kun who steps on the gas like there’s no tomorrow, and when your days are numbered, YOLO, right? YOLO actually got him into this, so maybe not that expression.

_ “Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?” _ It’s so quiet, Kun can hear the phone call word for word.

“Is this Jongin Park, or I guess, Jongin Kim now?” Doyoung’s voice is almost nothing like how he talks, it’s deeper, raspier, almost like a movie voice-over. There’s a small sound on the line.

_ “Why are you calling?” _

“Because I have something, or rather someone you want.” Kun can almost picture Jongin’s stupid pretty face, and his shock and fear. It’s not pleasant, so he tries to free the image from his mind.

_ “Chanyeol…” _ Kun can’t place the tone Jongin has. There’s some longing there for sure, but not as much as you would expect from someone who just lost their husband. Disappointment isn’t right either, but there is a tad of that there as well.

“Yes, and if you ever want him back, listen to me very carefully,” The pause is almost deafening. Kun can feel his adrenaline-boosting even higher. No drug can compare to how the next few seconds feel, Kun’s foot pushing harder on the pedal, pushing the car above 80 miles an hour. The streets are flying by, and Kun can almost feel the wind in his hair. “Here’s what I need you to do; leave 1 million US dollars in locker 818 at the Anaheim train station. You need to rent the locker yourself, but remember, as I assume you already know, the police cannot be involved. We’ll know, so don’t bother. And besides, I assume you don’t want Chanyeol’s organs painting the streets of Los Angeles, right?”

The line has a pause. Kun can tell what Jongin is trying to do. He’s trying to give the police more time to figure out their location. But currently, they are driving in the complete opposite direction of the train station, ready to pull a U-turn the second Doyoung hangs up.

_ “Yes.”  _ Jongin sounds unsure and almost annoyed, but there’s no way police aren’t sitting there with him, listening to Doyoung’s every word.  _ “Okay. I’ll do it.” _

“You have two hours.” Doyoung hangs up the phone, and Kun pulls the tightest U-turn ever seen, stopping the car completely in the middle of the barren road. Doyoung pulls out a cloth and wipes down the phone for prints, then exits the car, setting it in front of the front right wheel. Doyoung takes a step away from the car and Kun slowly drives forwards and then back and forwards again, turning the burner phone into a garbled mess.

“What are we doing for two hours, Ten?”

Ten snaps his eyes up, looking bored. That surprises Kun more than anything else. Ten should be revving up and just as excited, like his excitement and cockiness from the night at the bar. But he isn’t. Ten looks just as surprised as Kun. Kun is frazzled and knows what he looks like. He looks like a junkie almost, and this rush is hard to say no too, but self-preservation kicks in occasionally.

“Look to your left.” Doyoung slides back into his seat and follows Kun’s eyes over to the run-down ice cream parlor on the other side of the street. The light purple paint is faded and running down the sides from time, the name of the store so faded Kun couldn’t tell you what it said for the life of him.

Kun moves the car over into a parking space, throws the car in park, and climbs out. Walking across the street, Kun sees the remains of the burner phone and feels a tinge of pride at just how destroyed it is. The enjoyment Kun has for this part of the job gives him shame. That feeling settles in him as he crosses the threshold of the ice cream parlor, holding the door open for Ten and Doyoung.

“I assume we are here for more than ice cream,” Kun comments, crossing his arms and leaning on his left side.

“I see you’re catching on,” Ten smirks, back to normal. It’s a little relieving, but just as unnerving and piques Kun’s curiosity. Curiosity that has to be shoved down now and hopefully forever, so as not to have a repeat of this morning. 

A twiggy boy comes out of the back room with a huge smile. The first thing Kun notices is his strong jawline, and of course, the little bit of red ink peeking out of his collar.  _ Of course. _ Kun really should have seen this coming. Said boy, says,  _ “Hi, Ten! I’ve missed you so much.” _ Kun freezes for a moment, almost not realizing this kid is speaking Mandarin and not English. A small bit of comfort. But as far as Kun knew, Ten was Thai, not Chinese.

_ “Ahh. Dejun. You’ve grown up so much since the last time I saw you.” _ Ten ruffles the boy’s hair, who preens under the attention. Dejun walks from behind the counter and wraps his arms around Ten’s waist, and Ten’s arms make their way around his neck. They both have forgotten about Kun and Doyoung, who share a look like ‘which one of us is gonna break the moment?’

_ “I’ve really missed you, my baobei.” _ That sends Kun into overdrive. Baobei is a term that means treasure in English and is generally used between couples. Even if it is super cheesy. Doyoung seems to notice Kun’s shock, and while Doyoung doesn’t speak Mandarin at all, he might recognize baobei.

Kun doesn’t think before speaking.  _ “So, Ten. Care to fill us in?” _ Kun speaks in Mandarin because what better way to embarrass Ten. And it works, Ten’s face flushes redder than when he drinks.

“You speak Mandarin?” Ten says in English, looking strained. Dejun only looks lost.

“Ten. I’m Chinese and was raised middle class. It would be more surprising if I didn’t speak Mandarin,” Kun shrugs.

“Are you guys Ten’s new apprentice?” Dejun asks in English with a thick accent.

Kun’s face scrunches up at the implication. “No. But Doyoung here is.” All eyes look to Doyoung, who still doesn’t know what’s going on. Doyoung’s eyes are staring at Ten’s fingers playing with the hem of Dejun’s long-sleeve white work shirt. 

“That’s so cool!” Dejun sounds genuinely excited, and smiles and man he is attractive. Strong brows and sweet eyes too. Dejun flicks his gaze to Ten. “Are they a part of your  _ qiqie _ yet?” Kun lets out a strangled sound, which sounds more like a bird dying than an actual human.

“What just happened?” Doyoung asks, looking to Kun, for once out of his element. Kun recovers in seconds, one of the only pluses of this job is his recovery time from the most extreme and absured situations.

“I have several questions,” Kun declares, clearing his throat. “Number One; why does Ten have a haram? Number Two; why would Doyoung and I be invited? And Number Three; what the fuck?” Kun makes his points by pointing ever most intensely at Ten who has gone scarlet and finally had the shame to pull out of Dejun’s arms. Ten is gaping like a fish, so Kun spins on his heel to Dejun.  _ “Can you answer my questions?” _ Kun tries, now in Mandarin.

_ “Yeah, but can you repeat them?” _ Dejun requests, timid. Kun does as he’s asked and repeats the questions into fast flying Mandarin. Dejun flushes too, but not as bad as Ten and rubs his neck while staring at a poster for winterberry ice cream instead of Kun’s eyes.  _ “Ten invites whoever works under him to join a qiqie. It’s very lowkey and no one is really dating each other. It started because it’s so hard to date with this job and who wouldn’t want to fuck Ten? I feel bad for embarrassing you three, so would you like some free ice cream to lighten the mood?” _

So Ten is just a hoe. Good to note. Though that would explain why Ten wanted to kiss Kun before. Kun glances at Doyoung, looking just as lost. “Basically,” Kun explains. “Ten is a hoe and tries to fuck all the people that work under him. And Dejun is gonna give us free ice cream.”

Doyoung’s face freezes then solidifies finally bringing back his calm, cool and collected face. “Free ice cream sounds amazing. I would really like to try the winterberry flavor.”

Dejun is back behind the counter, smiling like nothing happened, humming as he opens the freezer. “What kind of cone?”

“Waffle cone, please,” Doyoung says, and Kun takes note of how even in a bizarre situation Doyoung has the time to remember his please and thank you. Dejun’s dark eyes make direct contact with Kun.

“Oh,” Kun realizes that it’s his turn to order. “Can I have one scoop of pomegranate sorbet with cherries. Please.” The please is tacked on like something extra Kun couldn’t be bothered to think about. Dejun’s smile betrays no offense, so maybe Kun is in the clear this time.

“Baobei, do you want anything?” Dejun asks, which finally reboots Ten. Kun takes his and Doyoung’s ice cream, handing Doyoung’s over with a touch of their fingers. Doyoung really does have pretty fingers.

“Yes actually. Pick something you think I would like.” Ten is picky. Extremely picky, so the fact that he is even letting another human actually make a decision for him is shocking, to say the least. But no one comments on it, so Kun stores it away for later. Dejun emerges from the back freezer with vanilla ice cream covered in hot fudge and whipped cream, and Ten looks like a kid on Christmas.

Dejun walks around the counter, leaning against the front side and says, “So Ten, who are these guys?”

“That one,” Ten says, after taking a big scoop of ice cream. “Is Doyoung. He works under me and has been for around six months. The other one is Kun who is here for a specific mission.”

“That’s exciting. I’m sure all of you will have a lot of fun. I’m going to grab something but I will be right back.” And Dejun is off and into another back room, probably for staff. Even though this is a ghost town of an ice cream parlor.

“You got a lot of cherries on your ice cream,” Doyoung comments, but Kun catches the undertone of annoyance.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Okay, Kun said he wouldn’t let curiosity about Doyoung’s personal life fuck up their mission, but this is different.

“Oh nothing,” Doyoung takes a bit of his waffle cone and looks Kun up and down.

“Use your words man,” Ten says. “I have no idea what mind games you’re playing but if I can’t figure them out then Kun definitely can’t.”

Kun rolls his eyes and mumbles, “It’s the opposite but okay.” Dejun shows up again, looking a bit like an excited puppy.

_ “This is for you,” _ Dejun says, back to Mandarin as he hands a small card to Kun. Kun doesn’t read it at all for before thanking Dejun as a way to make up for his late please earlier. Both Ten and Doyoung look at the card, but can’t see what is says before Kun sticks it in his pocket.

_ “Thank you,” _ Kun replies back, giving Dejun a little wave before leading Ten and Doyoung out of the ice cream parlor. Checking his phone, Kun notices how it hasn’t been two hours yet, but they would make do with what time they had.

“What does that card say?” Ten asks. “That really isn’t like Dejun.” Kun wouldn’t say he has a sixth sense, but he is sure Doyoung rolls his eyes without looking at him.

“I’ll look at it once we are in the car,” Kun says, taking another bite of ice cream as he crosses the street. Once at the car, Kun slips into the backseat. “You can drive again, Ten.” Ten screams gleefully and sits down in the driver’s seat, radiating happiness. Doyoung doesn’t try for shotgun and sits down next to Kun without a word.

Kun sticks his hand in his pocket and pulls out the card Dejun had given him. In small, Chinese characters is a note and a phone number.  _ “You clearly have no interest in Ten romantically.” _ Kun snorts. Dejun is bold, he had to give him that.  _ “With that in mind, you seem like a smart and capable young man. Certainly a beautiful one.” _ Heat rushes to Kun’s cheeks and he pulls on his hair subconsciously.  _ “Anyways, I was wondering if when you finish your mission you would be interested in going out to dinner sometime?” _

Being in the Scarlet Rings had always kept Kun single by either can’t date anyone outside of the Rings for fear of jail or anyone in the Rings is scared of being killed if they date you. So it’s safe to say Kun hadn’t been formally asked out on a date in close to eight years. Just thinking about how long it had been made him cringe, but it didn’t make Kun feel any less good about being asked out. A very small part of him wanted to say yes, but the bigger part knows that having any contact will only lead to bad things.

“What’s with the expression, Kun?” Ten asks, looking at Kun through the rearview mirror.

“Oh! Nothing.” Remembering he’s in a car with other people, Kun crumples the notecard.

“Why did you crumple the card?” Doyoung asks, mood seemingly lifted slightly.

“Uhhh,” Kun is at a loss for words. In his moment of thinking, Ten snatches the card out of Kun’s hand. “Ten! Don’t read that.”

“Why?” It’s such a normal question, yet the implications are huge because Kun has no real reason to not let Ten see. Sure, it’s an invasion of privacy, but all of them have hardly any at this point.

“Because,” Kun fumbles for words. Ten clearly takes Kun’s lack of response to mean that he can read it. His expressions are easy to read; first annoyance, then pride, then shock.

“DOYOUNG!” Ten yells and Kun covers his ears instinctively as they are in a car. “Dejun asked out Kun.” Doyoung doesn’t have quite the same reaction, instead, he mumbles an ‘I knew it.’ 

Kun chooses to ignore Doyoung’s comment and instead switches the subject over to their next plans. “So who is getting the money from the locker?”

“How about you Mr. I-Just-Got-Asked-Out?” Ten suggests.

“I need to run the cameras to make sure neither of you fuck up, and besides he’s apart of  _ your _ harem,” Kun counters.

“Counter point: Doyoung should do this as a learning experience,” Ten tries and Kun shrugs.

“I don’t like this plan,” Doyoung mumbles.

“You get to wear a headset again~” Ten coos.

“That wasn’t fun though. It was extremely stressful as I thought we were about to get caught,” Doyoung pouts.

“Doyoung is also the most nondescript,” Kun supplies.

“Literally how?” deadpans Doyoung.

“Look at Ten.” Kun has a point. Today Ten has chosen to wear a yellow and navy horizontal striped shirt that says, in lilac letters, ‘hold hands, take LSD, find god.’ 

“I hate that you’re right,” Doyoung says, defeated. Ten and Kun high five and cheer. “I still can’t believe you are wearing that shirt though.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Jungwoo is laying on his bed, twirling a stand of his burgundy hair, bored with his phone, waiting. Waiting for what exactly? Waiting to meet up with Johnny. He’s known Johnny for years, most of his life actually; first, as Doyoung’s friend and soon enough, as his boss. But time is moving especially slow today, so he has three hours before he even has to leave, and Jungwoo doesn’t do well with long stretches of time alone.

“Jungwoo,” Yukhei calls from the bathroom. Good thing Jungwoo isn’t alone today, or most other days Yukhei doesn’t work. Living with your best friend can be great, honestly. “I need a towel. There’s none left in here.”

“Okay. I’ll get you one. Give me just one moment,” Jungwoo replies, getting up to wander around their apartment for a towel. Next to Yukhei’s piles of clothes he finds one and makes his way to the bathroom. Jungwoo sees Yukhei’s large hand sticking out from the door, gives him a high-five and hands over the towel. 

Yukhei sticks his head out from behind the door and smiles that big, goofy, beautiful smile. “Thank you,” he coos, giving away that he’s in a good mood. 

“You’re welcome,” Jungwoo says, leaving Yukhei to dry off and tries to kill some more time with Piano Tiles even though he’s no good at it. 

Yukhei enters the room, fully clothed, much to Jungwoo’s disappointment. With a hand on his hip, Yukhei says, “Come on, Woo. You’re been inside all day. Let’s go get coffee.” Jungwoo whines slightly, all he really wanted to do is stay home and cuddle, but coffee is delicious, and Yukhei looks delicious in his form fitting pants. “This isn’t up for debate.”

“Fine.”

As Yukhei leads Jungwoo by the wrist out of their apartment, he elaborates, “You know you love coffee. I love coffee, and I want caffeine, so you must be craving some as well.” Yukhei smiles, and Jungwoo feels his heart skip a beat.

“You raise a very solid point there, Yukhei,” Jungwoo concends. “My only rule is no places far from here; I am not going to wait for 20 minutes at Starbucks.”

“I expected this, so we’re going to the coffee shop less than a block away.” Yukhei holds the door for Jungwoo and the sunlight burns Jungwoo’s eyes. Maybe it had been too long since he’d been out. The pair walk into Sun Dollars, a clear rip off of Starbucks, but Jungwoo says nothing.

“Ahhh, I love the smell of coffee beans,” Yukehi says, like Jungwoo doesn’t know already. 

“Even though I like coffee, I can understand why people don’t like the smell of it,” Jungwoo says, letting his arm lightly brush against Yukhei’s. Yukhei has no reaction and Jungwoo doesn’t know if that is good or bad.

“On a normal day, I would get mad and argue that the smell of coffee is magical and has given the baristas immortality,” Yukhei says, still smiling. “But today is your lucky day, so I won’t go off on a rant about it.” One of the baristas hears them and calls them over.

“What can I get for you two?” asks the cashier, Sulli. Yukhei stares at the list of drinks, like he won’t order the exact same thing every time. Sulli turns her attention to Jungwoo. “Does he really think we are immortal?”

“Knowing him, probably,” Jungwoo giggles. “I’ll have a double espresso.” Yukhei’s eyes light up when he finds what he wants.

“I’ll have a large black coffee,” Yukhei decides, and Jungwoo rolls his eyes. Even Sulli seems surprised by his choice, and so would most people to be honest. 

“Can I get a name for the order?” Sulli asks.

“Lucas.” Living in Los Angeles, Yukhei got used to no one being able to spell his name quickly. It never really bothered him, so he just took the opportunity to give himself a cool kid name. Hence ‘Lucas’. But Jungwoo has a small soft spot for his given name. Jungwoo didn’t speak Chinese at all, but he still learned how to write Yukhei so well he can now do it with his eyes closed.

Jungwoo picks out a window table with Yukhei across from him. They exchange meaningless small talk about some TV show, but Jungwoo still finds himself enjoying their conversation because whenever Yukhei gets excited his eyes light up and he will try to explain his logic with his hands. Thinking back to when he first met Yukhei, Jungwoo is reminded that his first thought after Yukhei shook his hand was,  _ ‘wow. He has yaoi hands’.  _ Pretty embarrassing, but it still makes Jungwoo chuckle.

“Are you even listening to me?” Yukhei whines, pouting.

“Mhm,” Jungwoo hums, tracing a pattern on the table. “You seem really happy, Yukhei. Did something good happen besides you finally admitting you’re in love with Nathan Filli-” Yukhei shoves his hand over Jungwoo’s mouth before he can finish and quickly scans the area.

“No one is supposed to know that,” Yukhei whisper-screams, completely serious, until he sees the mischievousness in Jungwoo’s eyes. He looks nervous for a second, then Jungwoo’s tongue is on his hand. Yukhei pulls his hand away like he’s been burned and wipes his hand on his pants dramatically, while Jungwoo is almost crying from laughing. That’s one thing about Yukhei; he always manages to make Jungwoo laugh, even on days he feels like giving up.

“Anyways,” Yukhei says, stretching out his words. “I’m in a good mood because I have something to tell you. It’s something that I’ve wanted to tell you for a while.” Yukhei looks ridiculously happy, and Jungwoo has to force down any negative thoughts and instead stares into Yukhei’s shining eyes.

“Double espresso and a large black coffee,” calls out Sulli, successfully breaking their moment before it could even really begin. Yukhei looks embarrassed, but jumps up to fetch their drinks.

Yukhei comes back, standing over the table with Jungwoo’s drink and Jungwoo wishes he could capture the moment on film. Looking every bit like the boyfriend Jungwoo doesn’t have. “As I was saying, I came here for caffeine, but I also wanted to ask you out.”

Time stops completely. No one moves and all Jungwoo can hear are his own thoughts. A quick suck in of air, and time unfreezes, speeding up to counter lost time and Jungwoo is almost dizzy.

“What?” Jungwoo croaks out, not letting his mind believe the words Yukhei said.

Yukhei shifts a bit from foot to foot, looking a little embarrassed. “Y’know like a date? You’re super cool and I love living with you, but recently it’s been less; Jungwoo is a great friend and more; I need to hold his hand. Full homo.” Jungwoo tries to laugh but it gets caught in his throat, sounding more like a wheeze.

“Oh.” Jungwoo is speechless.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I thought you might, but I wasn’t sure,” Yukhei hurries out.

“NO! I--” Jungwoo pauses to collect his thoughts. “I love you, Yukhei. Full homo.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Jungwoo has been pacing outside of Johnny’s office for well over ten minutes. Word had spread about Kun getting a deal out of this hellhole, so maybe Jungwoo could as well. If Johnny would risk getting rid of Kun, Jungwoo should have no issue. The thought that comforts Jungwoo the most is Yukhei. This is for him. Everything is for him.

“Johnny will see you now, Jungwoo,” the receptionist calls, breaking Jungwoo’s train of thoughts like a baseball through a window. Jungwoo reminds himself to breath and heads into Johnny’s office. Seeing Johnny sitting behind his desk, looking as calm as ever knocks what little confidence Jungwoo had out of him.

“Funny seeing you again, Jungwoo,” Johnny says oily, “Take a seat.” Maybe Jungwoo is the only one that sees it, but Johnny always has some ulterior motive and doesn’t really care about his employees. Jungwoo’s face attempts to make a smile, but it doesn’t quite work.

“I want to retire. I barely work--” Jungwoo is halted by Johnny’s hand.

“I said take a seat, Jungwoo.” Johnny leaves no room for argument, so Jungwoo does as he is told, already feeling off his game. “Now repeat what you said.”

“I want to retire.” For a moment there is an electric tension in the air. Then there is maniacal laughter from Johnny. Maybe this was pointless. “Why is that funny?” Jungwoo asks with a meager voice.

“I know why you’re here; you heard about Kun. I knew weaklings like you would come to me, thinking they could get a similar deal. But no one is leaving.” Jungwoo looks confused. From what he knows of Kun is that he’s an extremely gifted young man, essential to any strong team. “Kun won’t be able to meet the conditions of his deal. I’ll see to that. The only reason I even agreed is because what he offered me is something I have wanted for a long time.”

“What could he have offered you?” The words spill from Jungwoo’s lips without thinking of the consequences.

“Something I would never want from you,” Johnny smirks.  _ Oh. _ A gross feeling envelops Jungwoo. Even though he has no interest in Johnny, being so unwanted makes him feel icky. “So why do you want to leave? Considering you made a whole meeting and I am a very busy man…”

“No one.” Jungwoo knows he’s fucked up when Johnny’s face breaks into a smile. His smile makes Jungwoo feel uncomfortable and his heart goes out to Kun before his own brother.

“So it’s a person. Girlfriend?” Jungwoo’s face betrays nothing because there is no girl in his life. “ _ Boyfriend? _ ” Staring into the dead, glassy eyes of the deer on the wall, Jungwoo knows it’s over. “I see. I assume your boyfriend doesn’t like the Scarlet Rings, and you want them to like you. But, Jungwoo, if they really hate us, nothing you do will fix that. Your tattoo won’t go away, and once they realize they’ve been lied to…” This is the exact thing Jungwoo doesn’t want to hear and Johnny knows that.

“Is there any deal I could get?” Jungwoo asks, feeling on the verge of tears, or something worse.

“I’ll lighten your load of work, in exchange for you signing up for our new program. It’s experimental, so I wouldn’t want to waste our strongest agents.” The comment stings a bit, but Jungwoo brushes it off. He needs the break because he has two or three jobs every week. They generally aren’t as complex as higher rank’s tasks, but they still eat up his time.

“I agree.” Agreeing without knowing what is coming is a terrible decision, but the very thought of keeping Yukhei off his tail is too tempting.

“I’ll get back to you on the details soon, but it involves overseas traveling,” Johnny says, smiling that sick smile of his again.

“Alright,” Jungwoo says, voice stable for the first time since this meeting started.

“Desalutations, Jungwoo,” Johnny says, dismissing Jungwoo from his office. Jungwoo is bamboozled by the word choice. Desalutations isn’t even a word. Anxiety rushes in Jungwoo, thousands of “what if’s” swirl through his mind. Most of which involve Yukhei finding out about the Rings. Jungwoo knows Yukhei. He has seen Yukhei’s reactions when the Scarlet Rings are on the news. Yukhei gets angry and will storm off to his room, unintentionally pushing Jungwoo away.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“So what now?” Doyoung asks. They’d arrived at their destination and Ten had parked them under a large tree with a viewpoint of the train station. 

“Now you’re gonna put these on,” Kun explains as he pulls out a black beanie and sunglasses. Doyoung makes a face. “Yeah, it’s not for beauty; it’s so you aren’t seen.”

“I still don’t like this,” Doyoung grumbles.

“Well, Kun and I are just too gorgeous to be seen in public. If women and men start fainting left and right that would call attention to us, which is not what we want at all,” Ten smiles, dazzling as ever, while Doyoung frowns.

“I disagree with your logic, but okay.” Kun removes a metal box from his bag as Ten and Doyoung watch closely. Inside the metal is two black earpieces, but there’s a spot for a third one. “Fuck.”

“Where is the third one?” Ten asks, sounding worried for once.

“I picked this up from the equipment locker, and I didn’t check it,” Kun explains. “I can’t believe him.”

“Who?” Doyoung asks.

“Mr. Suh,” Kun spits. “It’s him who has been fucking with us--”

“Kun.” Kun snaps his neck to Ten. “You have no evidence for that and he is our boss, so watch your mouth.” Kun opens his mouth to say something, but Ten’s eyes say to drop it. Unbelievable.

“Whatever. Doyoung; put this in your ear and it should connect automatically,” Kun explains. Doyoung turns it over in his hand and runs his fingers over the smooth black surface before pushing the correct piece into his right ear and adjusting it. Kun held out his hand with a small black clip, to which Doyoung took.

“What do I do with this?” Doyoung asks, curiously. Kun notes that Ten is on his phone looking annoyed before taking the clip back and sticking it to Doyoung’s shirt.

“It’s a microphone, so I can hear you inside the station,” Kun explains, smoothing down the fabric of Doyoung’s shirt. Kun pulls out his laptop, boots up his custom coding program and types rapidly. Doyoung could easily get a headache from just watching the numbers fly across the screen. Kun sighs contentedly as he gains access to the security cameras inside the station. "Alright, you're set. Get out." 

Doyoung steps outside, the loose material of his shirt rippling across his skin in the afternoon breeze. He brushes strands of hair out of his eyes, and slams the door shut hard enough to annoy Ten. He walks off with a smirk, hearing Ten’s curses through the glass of the window as he moved farther away.

"Don't look suspicious."

"Holy shit-" Doyoung jumps at the sound, nearly tripping over the curb of the pavement as he walked up to the main entrance. "Kun? Is that you?"

"No, it's God," Kun speaks through the earpiece, the high-quality audio transferring his sarcasm perfectly into Doyoung’s ears. "I've come to make you beg for forgiveness for your many sins."

"Mhm, if you say so," Doyoung chuckles, walking through the doors with ease. He glances around the station and spots a few commoners roaming around, not paying more than a quick glance in his direction. "Where am I going, Kun?"

"I thought you were more prepared, Doyoungie?" Kun stalls as he used the cameras on his screen as a sort of navigation tool to find the right locker.

"Oh, excuse me," Doyoung smirks, murmuring as not to draw attention. It wasn't everyday people see a guy walk in and start talking to himself. He begins to slowly walk in the direction of many rows of lockers in a storage unit, assuming that is the general direction he was supposed to head in. "Which locker am I looking for?"

"818," Kun mumbles. He is concentrated on watching the movements around Doyoung’ form while also searching for the right number upon the many rows of lockers. He sighs quietly as he spotted the number he was looking for. "Go to your right, all the way at the end of the last row."

Doyoung glances around at clueless people walking by, taking long strides once he reached the lockers and heading for the last row. He turns, reaching the end of the row, and sets his eyes on the dark blue locker embedded with the number 818. He lifts the handle and pulled, grimacing at the ear-piercing sound of metal moving against metal.

"Is this it?" Doyoung mutters as he pulled out a small briefcase. He frowns. "This doesn't look like it holds much."

"Trust me, it does. Come out to the van, we've got suspicions that Jongin is going to get impatient soon," Kun explains, "and that's something we don't have time to deal with. Don't draw attention, just get out."

"Alright," Doyoung speaks with a playful tone as he grinned at one of the cameras he spotted moving in the corner, knowing that Kun was watching.

"Don't get smart with me."

"I'm not," Doyoung smugly assures, continuing on his path to the exit.

"I can see your smirk," Kun retorts. "Arrogance isn't attractive."

"Really?" Doyoung grins, pushing through the doors and back out into the cool evening atmosphere. "Is that why you're always staring at me?"

"Get over yourself," Kun replies. "Hurry up, Ten is getting bored and threatening to leave you here."

"He wouldn't leave without the big prize." Doyoung glances over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed; everything was clear. "And besides, you guys enjoy my presence too much to leave me here."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Kun calls out. He takes off his headset, having turned their earpieces off as Doyoung grew closer. "Get in, loser."

Doyoung doesn't reply as he approaches and instead moves next to Kun, looking directly at him with a smile as Kun feels heat creep up his neck at how close Doyoung stood. When he speaks, his breath fanned out on Kun’s cheek. "You want the case in the back with me, Kunnie?"

"That's fine," Kun mumbles, avoiding Doyoung’s gaze as he looks over his shoulder back at the station while pretending to check for any suspicious followers. Doyoung’s grin widens at the flushed look on Kun’s face as he gets into his seat. Doyoung sets the briefcase down next to him while Kun climbs in before shutting the door. "It's clear, go ahead, Ten."

"Finally." Kun barely had time to pull on his seat belt, which he had thought the best idea upon catching Ten’s fierce and impatient expression in the rearview mirror. He jolts backwards as Ten floors it, pulling out of the parking lot with a roar of the engine. It dies down to a smooth yet growing hum as Ten goes through different gears and picks up speed on the main road, swerving around traffic with ease and determination.

Kun had put his laptop away and was now turning back to face Doyoung’s paled expression. "Look for trackers."

"Trackers?" Doyoung repeats, pulling the briefcase onto his lap and feeling around the exterior for any sort of device. He feels a small bump near one of the hinges and looks down, spotting a faint flashing light inside. He pries it off with a bit of difficulty before handing it to Kun. "Found one."

Kun didn't respond, turning back to roll down the window before chucking the tracker out the window. He quickly rolls the window back up, scrunching his nose as the cold air hit his face and completely messed up his hair. He ruffles his fingers through it before looking at Ten with a look of concentration. "Go to the gates."

"Are we still giving the body back?" Doyoung asked, although deciding not to lean forward on the seats in front of him wasn’t a choice with the speeds Ten was driving. "I mean since he hid a tracker and all..."

"We're giving the body back." Ten met his gaze in the mirror briefly with a suggestive look, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you're that desperate for a boyfriend."

"That's disgusting," Doyoung replies, his upper lip curling in a distasteful expression as he immediately looks away. Ten merely laughs, light and breezy as he eases off the gas. Ten pulls to a stop in front of the back entrance of the graveyard where Chanyeol's body was originally kept. 

Then Ten throws it into reverse, the car heading up the hill at 40 mph. Kun is convinced that they will hit the fence, but Ten slams on the breaks with a hoot. Pulling on a black balaclava and sliding on gloves, Kun sighs. He opens his door and heads to the trunk of the car. Ten has already popped the trunk, so Kun leans in and opens the freezer. Kun can practically taste the smell of Chanyeol, which is a bad sign, but there is no time to think about that now. Fuck. Chanyeol is heavier then Kun expected, so instead of a graceful set down, Chanyeol slides headfirst out of the freezer onto the ground with a loud thump. 

Trying not to think about the bag contents, Kun closes the back and hops right back into his seat. Ten hits the gas the second Kun is in the car, not a moment more. 

"Alright, boys, one more stop."

"You sound like a dad, Ten," Kun observes as he leans against the window and looked over at him, having pulled his balaclava off and slipped his hood off of his disheveled hair.

"Call me daddy then," He spoke before comprehending the words that came out of his mouth and grimacing. "Actually, please don't. Forget I said that."

"You've got a daddy kink?" Doyoung questions with amused interest.

"No," Ten replies quickly, meeting Doyoung’s eyes with a scowl in the mirror. "I never said that."

“Considering you have a literal harem; this doesn’t surprise me at all,” Kun comments, as Ten glares.

"Ten, we've got to stop by and see Johnny." Doyoung reminds. This breaks the adrenaline moment for Kun. Mr. Suh. Fuck him honestly. 

"Yeah," Ten sighs, checking behind him before facing forward and doing a sudden U-turn. A chorus of honks sounds off from surrounding cars, Ten immaturely flashing the finger at a few drivers nearby. "We'll stop there quick then."

"You have  _ got  _ to learn how to drive better," Doyoung suddenly says. “Even if though I ride with you often, I can never fully adjust.”

"What do you mean?" Ten asks, turning onto a road with less traffic. "I drive perfectly fine."

"Let me rephrase that," Doyoung speaks irritably. "You need to learn how not to kill people with your driving." Kun giggles unintentionally and Ten shoots a glare in his direction.

"I may have run into a person once or twice," Ten admits with far too much casualty as he presses the gas harder. "but I haven't killed anyone."

"Yet," Doyoung mumbles under his breath as he leans back in his seat.

It wasn't long before Ten slowed down to pull into a small lot outside of what looked to be a storage facility. He parks and cuts the engine, removing his key and following Kun as they exit the car. 

"Grab the case, Doyoung," Kun directs him before stepping back and following Ten to the door. Doyoung grabs the case and quickly catches up with the pair right as they enter the building with the entrance key Ten held. "Is he expecting us?"

"He should be," Ten replies. They walked past the fake secretary and down the first hallway on the main level, Ten leading the way to the familiar office. 

“I’ll be right back,” Kun says, and Ten waves him off. Kun doesn’t know how long he can handle talking to Mr. Suh, so he heads over to the bathroom as a way to procrastinate talking to him.

As Kun is leaving the bathroom he sees a burgundy guy crying as he washes his face. Kun wants to reach out to him, but the second the guy sees Kun he dashes out of the bathroom.

Weird situation aside, Kun heads back to Mr. Suh’s office, brought his fist up to the door with a short round of knocks before reaching down and twisting the handle, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

"Oh, Kun. Nice of you to join us. Please take a seat," Mr. Suh says, turning around in his swivel chair and sliding his glasses off his nose to place on the top of the stack of documents he had been sorting through previously.

"Okay," Kun says, pursing his lips as he walked forward and took the same seat as last time, right next to the documents. The paper sat on top moved slightly from the interruption of the atmosphere, and Mr. Suh’s eyes cast down at it with a frown. 

“All of the information you need is inside. You’ll be heading up to see Yuta next, so good luck.” Mr. Suh stares directly at Kun as he speaks, almost as if Ten and Doyoung weren’t in the room. Kun pointedly stares at the back of the computer.

“Thanks, Johnny,” Ten says, oblivious to the tension in the room, or maybe the tension is all in Kun’s mind. Electricity seems to crackle in the air as Ten asks a few more questions. The tension tightens and tightens and finally breaks when Mr. Suh dismisses the trio. Kun is out of that room faster than snapping a rubber band.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“That went smoothly,” Ten speaks as they pile back into the van once again. For once, Ten drives at the speed limit. Okay, he drives five miles over the speed limit, but that’s close enough in Kun’s eyes. Kun crosses his arms and huffs, accidentally meeting Ten’s eyes in the rearview mirror who raises a brow.

“Who is Yuta?’ Doyoung asks. He crosses his legs and pushes a hand through his hair as Kun follows the line of his body. It still isn’t a great time to admire Doyoung, but there really doesn’t seem to be a good one. “Ten makes me do all kinds of stuff, but I haven’t been out of state for a job before.”

“He’s the equivalent of Johnny, but for the north-west section of America. Since the country is so big there are seven guys that run everything for different chunks,” Ten explains. Doyoung nods and something seems to click in Ten’s mind. “We should name the van.”

“Okay, but why?” Kun counters, tapping his fingers against his leg. Doyoung throws Kun a curious glance.

“Personally, I think most of what Ten says is bullshit--” Doyoung begins, only to be cut off by Ten very loudly disagreeing. “Shut it, Ten; I am agreeing with you.” Doyoung leans over and flicks the back of Ten’s neck. As he leans back, he meets Kun’s eyes once again.

“Alright what do we name it?” Ten questions. “What about Wheeled Boombox?”

“That’s a garbage name,” Kun comments. “You would think someone with  _ so _ much driving experience could name a car.”

“Alright,” Ten huffs. “You pick something better.”

“Boneknapper.”

"Sounds cool," Doyoung nods with a grin. "I like it."

"Fine. Boneknapper it is," Tem states as he taps his fingers on the steering wheel.

"We should play music," Doyoung suggests through the silence.

"What music do you like?" Ten asks curiously.

"Do you listen to Eric Benet?" Doyoung asks with excited eyes, clearly very passionate about his favorite artist.

"Uh..." Ten frowns. "Not really my taste."

"Can I play my playlist with the aux cord then?" Kun asks, making Ten frown.

Ten knows exactly what was on Kun’s playlist; lots of girl groups. He shakes his head, reaching his hand forward and pressing a button on the radio. The familiar melody of his favorite rap filled the atmosphere and made his relax and begin to tap his fingers on the steering wheel along with the music.

"This isn't what I had in mind," Doyoung mumbles as he listened.

"Driver runs the radio, shotgun- and anyone else- shuts their pie hole.”

And with that, it is settled. Kun leans back against the window again and closes his eyes, Doyoung sitting back in his seat with a huff while letting his mind wander. Ten hums along to the music as he drove, the rest of the ride going smoothly. 

2nd Newspaper Article

_ The Scarlet Rings are back again. While the consistency of grave robbery and associated acts have stayed mostly quiet, grave robbing found its way into the news again. Yesterday, Chanyeol Park went missing from his grave at Oakmont Mortuary around 1 am (PST). Chanyeol had recently died from a heart attack and left behind his husband Jongin Park, head of Kai Entertainment. Jongin couldn't be reached for comment. I will update later with further details. _

_ Update: Park Chanyeol was returned to the outside of Oakmont Mortuary earlier today. Jongin said he agreed to pay the ransom of 1 million dollars to a possible Scarlet Rings member. No name was given, which can be assumed as a way to protect his identity. Will we hear more from this person in the future? Or was this their only performance in ransoming bodies? _

**_-Anonymous Writer, The Daily Tombstone_ **

**_Anonymous Writer has written many articles about The Scarlet Rings and has a degree in psychology._ **

Police Report from Los Angeles Police Department

**Case No:** CA-2017004308

**Date:** 12/2/22

**Reporting Officer:** S. Dong

**Prepared By:** S. Dong

**Incident:** Stolen and returned body

**Detail of Event:** Park Chanyeol was taken from his grave at Oakmont Mortuary around 1 am on December 2nd, 2022. Jongin received a call from an unknown person, who claimed to have Chanyeol around 11 am and would return him if Chanyeol supplied him with 1 million dollars in a locker in the Anaheim train station. Jongin did as the man asked, and Chanyeol was tossed on the outside of the cemetery sometime between 1 pm and 3 pm later that same day.

**Actions Taken:** The police were called right after Chanyeol was noticed to be missing. We were called by the security guard at Oakmont, and not Jongin. Jongin only started answering questions after we assured him that Chanyeol had been returned. He said that this man has an extremely deep voice and assertive tone, but couldn't tell him anything about him. We tried to check the tapes at the train station, but all the cameras that would have caught this man or one of his associates going to locker 818 had been blacked out. This means that this was done by a professional, and not alone. Our best guess is at least two, but no more than five. Since Chanyeol was returned and we found no DNA evidence, no further action is going to be taken.

**Summary:** Chanyeol Park was stolen and returned for ransom in a little over 12 hours.


	2. Three Fewer Fingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kun, Doyoung and Ten leave LA to get their first job out of state. Another member from Ten's past is revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you brooke for beta-ing this ,,, i literally don't even remember like half of this chapter its so damn long,,, but please enjoy chapter 2 :) hopefully chapter 3 won't take this long again

“I’ve been driving for forever,” Ten whines. Kun is half asleep but grunts in reply. Checking his phone, Kun sees that Ten has been driving for well over five hours.

“You’re the one that likes to drive,” Doyoung comments from the front seat. Kun feels like a hot mess with his headache, messy hair and tired eyes, but Doyoung looks put together as ever. What a time to be jealous. “Just stop in Sacramento for the night if you’re tired.”

“I can drive tomorrow if you guys want,” Kun offers. He doesn’t like driving for extended periods of time, but it's the least he can do since they are all stuck together. Plus, if Kun never drove he would feel guilty and that’s not fun at all.

“Yeah,” Ten sighs. “I’m cool with that. Doyoung, can you find a hotel for us to stay in?” Doyoung nods and starts typing on his cellphone. Kun is close to dozing off again, listening to Ten’s soft music and the slight rumble of the car.

“Any place nice is gonna be way out of our price range this last minute, but there’s an Extended Stay at the next exit,” Doyoung says, mindful to keep his voice down. The deep tone of Doyoung’s voice is enough to make Kun drift back into slumber for the next fifteen minutes as Ten and Doyoung struggle with directions.

When the car comes to a stop, Kun stirs a bit. He really doesn’t want to get up, but spending the night slouched against the window will make his neck hurt tomorrow. Gazing at the building, Kun gets a little worried. Some graffiti is normal, but this seems excessive. And the peeling paint isn’t reassuring at all. Mark’s place had looked like this, but that was because it was a money laundering scheme. Kun doubts that this one would be like that as well.

Doyoung opens Kun’s door, ready to wake him up. “I’m already awake,” Kun slurs, head leaning back against the headrest.

“Come on, sleeping beauty,” Doyoung coaxes. Doyoung undoes Kun’s seatbelt and Kun would normally be trying not to drool over Doyoung’s hands but it's late and Kun wants to be carried upstairs.

“Carry me,” Kun whines, too sleepy to really think about what he is asking of Doyoung.

“I can’t carry you, Kun. Ten already grabbed our bags, so let's go,” Doyoung tries. Rubbing Kun’s hair as an apology, Doyoung moves out of Kun’s way so he can get out of the car. Kun gets up and stretches his hands up to try and wake himself up enough to get up the stairs. Tired or not, Kun still caught Doyoung staring at his stomach when his shirt rode up. Kun says nothing but takes the ego boost.

“Don’t forget to lock the car,” Kun mumbles as he walks to the front entrance of the Extended Stay. Ten is talking to the guy at the front desk and Kun isn’t really listening to what is being said.

“So you two need a room for the night?” the front desk guy, name, asks Ten and Kun. Now it doesn’t take an idiot to figure out what was implied.

“No!” Kun is suddenly very awake. “We’re with him.” Kun points at Doyoung in hopes of making the situation better.

“Okay. One or two beds?” name asks.

“Do you have three by chance?” Kun asks. He really doesn’t want to share a bed with Ten or Doyoung and knows he wouldn’t get the solo bed. 

“Sorry, we don’t.” Kun pouts. Looks like he’s sharing a bed with Doyoung again. Ten asks for two and pays, getting a singular room key for himself. The trio walk over to the elevator in silence, too tired to make stupid small talk.

Doyoung presses the worn button and the elevator pings. The elevator doors open and Kun nearly has a heart attack. Now, Kun isn’t one to judge someone by their appearance, but spiked black hair, leather jacket, collar eyeliner and a scowl looks like ‘Do Not Fuck With Me’ and Kun respects that. It’s just a lot for 11:30 at night.

Kun goes to the opposite corner as the scary guy and lets Doyoung press the 3 button. The elevator seemingly can’t move fast enough as it seems to be moving slower than if they had gone up the stairs. The doors pull apart and the scary dude, who Kun definitely had not been hiding from, smiles and says, “Have a good night.” Maybe Kun shouldn’t be so judgy next time.

“Do you need help carrying the bags?” Doyoung asks Ten who had once again grabbed everyone’s bags.

“I could help you with your bags,” says a tall man in his mid-thirties. Why do all these strangers keep talking to them? Does everyone like to help twinky Asians these days?

“We don’t need help, but thanks though,” Doyoung says, civilized as always.

“You have a lot. Let me help,” he tries.

“It’s no big deal,” Ten presses, tone firm. Ten is walking down the hallway towards what Kun hopes is their room. Ten gets their door open and Kun skirts inside faster than the other two. Doyoung enters the room with the rest of their stuff and plops down on one of the beds, while Ten tries to tell the guy to go away as politely as he can.

“That was weird,” Kun comments, choosing to copy Doyoung and lay back on one of the queen mattresses.

“You can say that again,” Ten mumbles, grabbing pajamas from his bag. Kun reluctantly gets up and grabs some clothes of his own.

“Where’s my bathroom bag?” Kun asks. “It isn’t with my other stuff.” Kun looks through his bag again to see if he missed it for some reason. “Ten, did you see it when we came up?”

“I grabbed everything I saw in the car,” Ten says. “If it isn’t there I must have missed it.” One last look through his bag has Kun giving up.

“It must be in the car. Will one of you go with me back down there?” Kun asks.

“I will volunteer to protect you, my prince,” Doyoung declares, smiling as he sits up from the bed. Kun is almost shocked that Doyoung smiled so big. Doyoung has very pretty teeth and gums and if that isn’t one of the weirdest thoughts Kun has ever had he doesn’t know what is. Kun nods, and tries to hide his blush from thinking about Doyoung.

“Let’s take the stairs this time though,” Kun suggests as the pair leave the hotel room.

“To the Spine Breaker we go!” Doyoung cheers quietly. Kun rolls his eyes. Doyoung holds open the stairwell door for Kun, who leads them down the narrow stairs.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Kun asks.

“I got good news from Johnny.” Kun bites the inside of his cheek and nods, trying not to give away his discomfort. “I know you don’t like him, but this is actually good.”

“How good?”

“He made an offer to me and in agreeing I got information about Jungwoo,” Doyoung says, choosing each word carefully. Kun wants to yell at Doyoung for being so dumb and agreeing to work more for Johnny and this fucked up organization, but he can’t deny whatever Johnny told Doyoung about Jungwoo must have been amazing for Doyoung to be this happy. 

At the bottom of the stairs, there is a large group of people smoking, drinking and chatting loudly. Kun tries to step through them carefully, as not to accidentally piss one of them off. Even the smallest one looks like he could crush Kun with his bare hands and that is not on Kun’s agenda for tonight.

Kun is nearly to the door when he stumbles a bit, bumping into one of the guys. He braces for the worst and gets a slap on the ass and a little push towards the door. Kun stiffens and hurries outside. He turns around as Doyoung exits the stairwell.

“Maybe taking the stairs was a worse idea,” Kun mumbles, face aflame from shame.

“I saw what they did and it was fucked up.” Doyoung turns Kun towards him and tilts his chin up so they make eye contact. “No one should touch you like that without your consent.” Doyoung stares into Kun's eyes and Kun can’t seem to look away.

“Okay,” Kun replies, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Good. Because you have so much value and anyone should be lucky you even give them the time of day,” Doyoung says, enveloping Kun in a hug and Kun feels the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

Doyoung pulls out the keys for Spine Breaker from his pocket and unlocks the door for Kun. Kun reaches in and grabs his bag quickly. Doyoung is standing close to Kun, and surprisingly the moment isn't broken for Kun. He still feels the romantic tension in the air. Kun bites his cheek. Does he kiss Doyoung or does he run back upstairs with his tail between his legs?

Luckily for Kun, he doesn’t have to decide. Doyoung leans a bit closer, Kun angles his jaw up, Doyoung’s hand is on Kun’s cheek and then Doyoung’s lips are on his. It’s magical in every sense of the word. Doyoung is slow, and gentle, but still guiding the kiss. Kun can’t help compare it to Ten’s kiss. Ten was much more  _ excited _ as he kissed, but Kun can’t seem to pick a favorite. Doyoung pulls away with a big deep breath and suddenly can’t look Kun in the eyes.

Kun remembers where he is and what he is doing and immediately wraps his arms tightly around himself, holding his bathroom bag to his chest. “Let's go back up stairs now,” Kun mumbles and Doyoung nods, locking the car doors. Kun rubs his arms from the cold.

Doyoung looks over at Kun. “Are you cold?” Kun nods. “Do you want me to warm you up?” While Doyoung’s question isn’t inherently awful, the very fact that they were kissing moments ago made it all kinds of suggestive. And Kun hates that he wants to say yes.

“No thank you. Let’s just go back inside.” You see, it wasn’t that Kun has no attraction to Doyoung or Ten, but it’s the fact that they would never work. Kun has to leave the Scarlet Rings and he isn’t sure he’s worth going on the run forever for.

“Alright,” Doyoung replies. The duo walk back inside and take elevator upstairs this time. Much to Kun’s relief there’s no one in the elevator with them, but that makes Kun want to do something a bit dangerous. Kun and Doyoung are standing side by side, fingers almost touching.

Kun reaches out and grabs Doyoung’s pinky with his. Doyoung doesn’t flinch away or say anything. Seeing no resistance, Kun leans over and kisses Doyoung’s cheek. Doyoung turns his head towards Kun and blinks down at him, looking a little confused. Before Kun can entrap Doyoung’s lip again the elevator dings open and their hands come apart.

They say nothing as they walk down the hallway. Doyoung knocks on the door and Ten doesn’t answer. Rolling his eyes, he knocks again. Then a third time. Before Doyoung can knock a fourth time, Ten swings open the door, smiling.

“You guys will never guess what I found out about this hotel,” Ten rushes, giddy with excitement. “Come in, come in.” Ten grabs both of them by the wrist and tugs them into the room. “Gah, this is so cool, I could kiss Doyoung!”

Kun laughs because Ten is lightening his mood a bit and could use a break from whatever tension there is between him and Doyoung. “Do it,” Kun says. “If it really means that much--” And before Kun can finish his sentence, Ten has Doyoung pinned against the wall, nipping at his lips.

Doyoung’s hands come to rest at Ten’s waist and Kun swears he can see Ten’s tongue and oh dear god it is the hottest thing Kun has ever seen. Seconds later, it’s over and everyone has a blush on their cheeks.

“So as I was saying,” Ten begins. Okay, so this won’t be getting talked about at all. Doyoung’s lips are spit slicked and Kun mildly wants to tackle him to the bed as Ten watches. “I just found out something bizarre about this hotel.”

“What did you find out?” Doyoung asks. Kun remembers where he is and stops staring. Only to start staring at Ten instead. He may have no eyebrows, but he has such a pretty nose. Stop getting distracted. 

“Come sit on the bed and I’ll tell you.” Kun and Doyoung sit down side by side on the bed and Ten stands over the two of them. “Several people have been murdered here before!”

“Why do you sound excited?” Doyoung flops back on the bed and his shirt rides up a little revealing his happy trail. Kun glances down before pretending like he never stopped to look at Ten. Only he makes direct eye contact with Ten. Were they both… no way.

“Why are we spending the night here if people were killed here? I don’t really want to get murdered right now,” Kun points out. “Murder isn’t sexy--”

“Yes it is,” Doyoung and Ten say at the same time.

“I hate you both.”

“I just thought it was interesting is all.” Ten shrugs and Kun could roll his eyes. Only Ten would think it’s cool to stay somewhere where people are murdered semi-regularly. “Sleepy time, guys.” Ten walks over to the second bed and Kun side-eyes him. Ten has just claimed the bed for himself. Great. There goes Kun’s hopes and dreams of sleeping alone at least once on this stupid trip. “I’m sleeping here. You two can share, or someone can sleep next to me.”

Kun, unlike Ten, is not ready for bed at all. “I’m going to get ready for bed,” Kun sighs, not really talking to anyone in particular. He gets up and crosses the room to the bathroom (with his bathroom bag). Taking one glance in the mirror, Kun gives up all attempts to make himself look human at all. He brushes his teeth and washes his face and at least looks less like he rolled in dirt. Walking back out into the main room for pajamas, Kun tries not to let his jaw drop. Doyoung is standing in only his pajama pants. Why is his waist so small? And why are his shoulders so broad?

Kun goes over to his stuff and grabs his clothes that he had laid out earlier. Trying not to think about what he’s doing, Kun strips out of his shirt and pants. Pants come on first and before Kun has his shirt on, Doyoung says, “You’re quite good looking, y’know.” Kun blushes and slips his shirt on. “I’m not sure if enough people tell you is all.”

“That’s really sweet, Doyoung. And no, I don’t get told that often.” Kun bites his cheek to stop from smiling, Doyoung is something else.

“You can take this bed if you want. I’ll go sleep next to Ten,” Doyoung offers, not really looking at Kun.

“That’s really nice, but it’s okay I can sleep with Ten.” Doyoung is about to protest but a grunt comes from Ten’s bed.

“Guys,” Ten moans. “Stop being so damn gay. One of you just get over here, I will snuggle you, which should be gay enough, but then I can at least sleep.” Kun laughs and Doyoung snickers. “I’m completely serious. Unless you want a repeat of last time I suggest one of you two get over here.”

Doyoung gets up and flops down next to Ten who shrieks. “THAT SCARED ME!” Ten screams. Doyoung ignores Ten and pulls him into his chest.

“Night, Ten. Night, Kun,” Doyoung says, finally bringing their day to an end.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“Thanks,” Jungwoo says as he reaches for the take out from the delivery guy. He holds the boxes in one hand and plastic utensils in the other. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” the guy calls over his shoulder as he has already begun to walk away from the apartment door. Jungwoo clicks the door shut and turns back to the living room where Yukhei sat on the couch, staring at the TV.

“Food is here,” Jungwoo announces, setting the boxes on the coffee table and moving to sit down next to Yukhei. He leans forward and reaches for the first box, opening it up. “I think this one is yours.”

“Look like it,” Yukhei agrees, taking his food and chopsticks from Jungwoo’s hands and leaning back to eat in a more comfortable position. Once Jungwoo is set up with his food, Yukhei leans closer, resting his head on Jungwoo’s shoulder. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Of course,” Jungwoo replies as he slips an arm behind Yukhei and around his waist. “Thanks for having a night in with me.”

“Mhm.” Yukhei seems distracted and Jungwoo frowns, it really isn’t like him-- The TV anchor switches to their next topic and Jungwoo feels his blood run cold. “I absolutely hate the Scarlet Rings. Pieces of shit.” Yukhei didn’t get upset about much, but every now and then different things would press all the wrong buttons for him.

“You do, huh?” Jungwoo feigns innocence.

“Yeah,” Yukhei huffs, setting down his food while his gaze stays trained to the screen flashing with new information about the Scarlet Rings. “It just makes me mad.” Jungwoo sees Yukhei’s shoulders sag and he aches to touch him. To help relieve some of that pain.

“Why?” Jungwoo’s voice is barely above a whisper, scared to break the moment. Yukhei sighs and turns to Jungwoo. Jungwoo watches as Yukhei lifts his shirt and pulls down slightly on the top of his sweatpants, revealing an astonishingly familiar tattoo right above his hip bone. The tattoo looks almost identical to Jungwoo’s, which almost seems to burn under his clothes. The only difference is that neither date is filled in on Yukhei’s tattoo.

“I guess I’ve got to explain this now.” Yukhei covers the tattoo again, leaning back with a far-away look in his eyes as he recalls things he had wished to keep secret for much longer. “I almost joined the Rings after my brother, Renjun, died while on a mission. I had just completed my initiation so that’s why I have the tattoo. But I still wasn’t an official member, so there’s no date.”

Jungwoo doesn’t think twice as he too sets his food on the coffee table and wraps his arms around Yukhei’s now sullen form, knowing he needs comfort from having to remember his trauma. Biting his lip, Jungwoo contemplates whether or not he should admit to his own experience in the Rings. It might be nice to finally get this weight off his chest.

“Do you hate me?” Yukhei asks, bringing all of Jungwoo’s thoughts to a halt. Jungwoo looks at Yukhei, really looks and sees how vulnerable he is. Brushing Yukhei’s hair back, Jungwoo kisses the top of his head. “For the tattoo, and my connections, I mean. Do you still want me?”

“Of course I still want you,” Jungwoo assumes, bringing his arms tight around Yukhei’s form and gently placing a kiss on his cheek. “Where are you originally from?” Something has Jungwoo’s gears turning.

“I spent a lot of my life on the East Coast,” Yukhei states, cheeks still tinted pink from the sudden gesture of affection. “I remember an old friend I had met there. He joined the Rings around the same time I had; we had initiation together. I kinda miss him to be honest.”

“Who is he?” Jungwoo asks. Maybe Jungwoo knows them? Maybe he can do something to make Yukhei happy and reunite him with his friend?

“His name is Ten. Only went by Ten so I have no clue if that is even what he goes by anymore,” Yukhei spoke. Jungwoo’s eyes widens. He knows Ten. Not just that but Ten is in contact with Doyoung. Jungwoo has to stop his thoughts there or he’ll start crying at the very thought of seeing his brother again. “I wonder what he’s up to these days.” Jungwoo swallows his nerves. Yukhei doesn’t even realize it, but he just saw what Ten has been up to on the news

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“I’m so glad we are finally here!” Ten screeches from the driver's seat. He’s so excited he hits the horn a few times, much to the disgruntlement of all the other drivers around them. Kun wants to slink down in his seat as a way to say, please I don’t know him. 

“Ten,” Kun whisper-yells. “Doyoung is literally asleep.” Doyoung stirs and mumbles something about being awake, then goes right back to sleep. Ten clearly forgot that Doyoung was sleeping and got way more excited about being in Seattle of all places.

“Sorry, Kunnie,” Ten whispers back, making puppy dog eyes in the rear view mirror. Kun glares back, but he must admit, Ten is getting better at being cute.

“Whatever, just make sure you have directions to Yuta’s office. I know you have to get off at the next exit, but the directions I have aren’t super helpful,” Kun explains, trying to read the map he had been given with an x on Yuta’s office and a black line on how to get there.

“Don’t worry. I know Yuta, and I can find my way there, so all will be fine,” Ten reassures. Kun trusts Ten enough to navigate this city because he used to work here apparently. Ten takes them through the neighborhood streets of Seattle and Kun is about to tell Ten that he’s lost, but Ten pulls into a parking lot and stops the car, looking smug.

“Is this it?” Kun asks. The building looks sketchy as hell, even for Scarlet Ring standards. The building looks like a strip mall that did cocaine for five years then got stuck in a window storm, if Kun is being honest.

“Yep, this is it,” Ten says, almost pridefully as he turns off the car as he tries to wake up Doyoung. Kun gets out of the car, feeling confident to lead the way now that he’s out of California. Knocking on the front door, Kun waits for an answer. When no answer comes he tries to peak in the windows, but they are too dark to see through. Doyoung and Ten come up behind him and look in the windows as well.

“So we came out here for nothing?” Doyoung says, still slightly sleepy from his nap.

“No,” Ten says, turning around. There’s a glint of disappointment in his eyes. “I know where Yuta is.” Ten takes a dramatic pause before continuing, “He’s at a strip club drinking away his pain again.” Doyoung just blinks at Ten, not fully comprehending what Ten said.

“What?” Kun sputters. “We come all the way here, and he’s out drunk.” Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

“Are we going to chase him down or something? We kinda need our case file to complete his mission,” Doyoung comments, slightly more awake. Ten scans both Doyoung and Kun’s expressions.

“I can tell you two are pissed at Yuta, but-- he normally has a good reason for behavior like this. Don’t judge him too harshly. I might not be from here either, but I’m up on all of the gossip and I know what’s up with him,” Ten explains. Although none of Kun’s questions were answered by Ten’s so-called explanation.

“Fine,” Doyoung sighs, looking at Kun. “Let’s go get him.” 

The three of them make their way through downtown Portland and into a shadier section of town. Kun is unsure that Ten is taking them in the right direction, but he chooses to keep quiet and trust Ten. Making a sharp right turn, Kun sees a building with a bright glowing sign saying, ‘Live Boys Here.’ The club seems exclusive, at least a little bit if the bodyguards and fancy cars in front at any indicators. Ten parks across the street from them and they all get out of the car. Before they can walk in, a large bodyguard stops them.

“Is your name on the list?” he asks.

“Two words; Scarlet Ring,” Ten says, an aura of confidence around him. The bouncer isn’t affected by Ten’s charms, or if he is, he doesn’t show it..

“Got any proof or are you another bullshitter like that other guy that tried to get in here,” the bodyguard drawls. Kun sighs before turning around and lifting his shirt. The bodyguard nods him in and turns to Ten and Doyoung who flash their tattoos with ease. Standing no more than three feet into the club, Kun is already uncomfortable. There’s loud music pulsing through the speakers and men everywhere in various states of undress.

Ten leans into Kun’s side, wraps an arm around his shoulders and whispers, “I guess you really were bullshitting the bouncer with your tough attitude.” Kun moves away from Ten and flips him off, while Ten only laughs and gestures for Doyoung and Kun to follow him.

They move up a tightly packed staircase and into a private dance area, how Ten knows that this is the room that Yuta is in, Kun has no clue. A young guy, no older than twenty, greets them and asks, “Are you here for a private shoe?” in a flirty tone.

Doyoung smirks at the guy and replies with, “Nope, we’re here for Yuta; we have some business with him.” The smile disappears from the boy and is replaced with a glimmer of fear that he tries to hide. “Oh, don’t worry,  _ baby. _ Nothing will happen to you as long as you tell us where Yuta is.” Kun rolls his eyes and pokes Doyoung, grabbing his attention before fake gagging. Doyoung merely rolls his eyes. 

“Okay,” the guy replies with a shaky voice. “Right this way.” Once the guy looks away from Ten, he starts walking towards where Yuta is. He leads the trio down a black light lit hallway with heads blocking off different sections. “He’s right in there.” He points to the hanging beads and turns to leave.

Once he’s gone, Doyoung says, “I feel sorry for that kid, but it’s a kill or be killed kind of world.” Doyoung pushes past the bead door and is greeted with a completely drunk Yuta with three guys surrounding him.

“Hey, Yuta,” Ten greets. “Drinking away your love for Johnny again?” The room has a circular stage in the middle of the room with a pole and a bench that goes all around the stage except at the doorway. Yuta scowls, long white hair brushing his shoulders as he ushers his ‘company’ out and gives a pointed look towards Ten. 

“I do  _ not  _ love Johnny,” Yuta mutters.

“Dude, you’re fucking head over heels for him. So, what’s got you down?” Ten asks, shockingly compassionate, the carefree tough guy act all dropped.

“Taeil.” Ten stiffens, and Kun glances to Doyoung for answers, but Doyoung either doesn’t know anything or he’s not giving anything away.

“Forget about him. Look, I’ll talk with you more later, but we need our file,” Ten says exasperatedly.

“Well,” Yuta slurs. “I forgot that you guys were coming, so I don’t--” Yuta hiccups before continuing, “-have it. You can pick it up in a couple hours or so.” He waves his hand like he’s trying to shoo the trio away.

“Yuta, you’re acting highly unprofessional, but please just get us the case file as soon as possible,” Doyoung sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Okey dokey,” Yuta sighs before laying down and presumably falling asleep.

“So this was a waste too,” Kun mutters.

“I know. That’s my bad,” Ten says as the trio walk out of the club. “But I have something for us to do while we wait for Yuta to get his shit together.”

“What is it?” Kun asks.

“I have a friend who lives here and can hook us up for something fun.” Ten smiles proudly.

“Is it illegal because I’d like to keep our illegal activities to a minimum,” Kun says, not really believing Ten.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing illegal,” Ten reassures.

“Let’s go,” Doyoung says. “I don’t know what there is to do here, but at least Ten has an idea.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“You know, when you said ‘fun,’ I really didn’t expect an art museum,” Kun muses, pleasantly surprised for once.

“I’m full of surprises,” Ten retorts. “Maybe if you got to know me better…” A guy with half red half white hair dressed in a black button up with the top two buttons undone, and a long grey comes up to Ten and nearly takes him with a hug. “This is Taeyong. Taeyong, this is Doyoung and Kun,” Ten introduces.

Taeyong’s eyes trail over Kun and Doyoung, but his eyes linger on Doyoung’s ankle. “What is that tattoo? It looks really cool.” Doyoung looks to Ten, who makes a hand signal akin to shut the fuck up please.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Doyoung says, angling his foot inwards to hide the tattoo from further inspection.

“It just looks familiar. I see lots of tattoos in my job, but that shade of red is unique,” Taeyong muses. They all make their way into the museum and Doyoung goes up to Taeyong.

“So, Taeyong, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a photographer and artist. I have an exhibit in this gallery actually.” Taeyong says, looking around at all the people in the lobby of the museum.

“Oh, wow. Where is it?” Doyoung asks, and Taeyong guides all of them towards the back of the museum.

“I’ll tell you when we get there.” The four of them spend hours walking through the museum, admiring all of the art that surrounds them. Kun is walking ahead of the group and when he steps into the next gallery, he immediately regrets it. The gallery that Kun walked into is full of nude photography. Now, Kun doesn’t have an issue with people being comfortable with their bodies, he just feels so out of place and awkward around the pictures. How long is it socially acceptable to stare at some random guy’s dick?

Kun is thankful not to have Ten next to him because he would probably be making commentary on all the people in the photos. After several minutes of walking around, Kun finally starts to relax. It’s art after all. He could appreciate the style of lighting in them or the angle.

Finding himself in front of one piece that catches Kun’s eye, Kun takes a long look at it, really trying to appreciate the thought and effort that went into styling it. The frame around the picture is a muted blue which fits well with the color scheme of the museum. What’s most interesting about this piece though is that the model is covered in colorful paint, mainly cool tones, with little bits of pink mixed in. The photo only shows the model from the neck to the knees, so Kun can’t see the face of the model. Looking closer, Kun sees something on the right shoulder of the model. A tattoo with two dark red rings hooked together. Kun takes one last glance at the picture before he’s sure.

If Kun’s luck couldn’t be any worse, Ten came up right behind him and says, “I see you’ve been staring at this piece for quite a bit of time. Is there something captivating about it to you?” Kun can hear the smirk in Ten’s tone.

“Nope,” Kun squeaks out. Ten’s tone has just confirmed his worst fears. Kun wasn’t looking at some random guy, who just so happened to look very good and be naked. It was fucking Ten.

“Did you know that this is Taeyong’s exhibit? He did all the photography and painting and he’s very proud of how it turned out. I have to say, I am too.” Ten is smiling like a fool, and Kun has to fight back his urge to strange him right then and there.

Instead, Kun just nods and walks away from Ten. He walks over to Doyoung and says, “I can’t believe what just happened.”

“What happened? Also, did you know that this is Taeyong's exhibit?” Doyoung is all smiles and seems to be having the time of his life just appreciating art.

“Ten is one of Taeyong’s models,” Kun mumbles.

“So?” Doyoung asks.

“I accidentally saw him naked, and he came up to me and was so fucking smug about it!” Kun whisper-screeches. Doyoung laughs and Kun pouts.

“Kun, calm down. You’re fine. I mean-- You  _ have _ seen a dick before, right?” Doyoung pinches Kun’s cheeks and laughs again. “You’re so cute when you’re all flustered.” Okay, so Doyoung is calling him cute now? They kissed and suddenly Doyoung is flirting with Kun. Kun grumbles about something before sliding out of Doyoung’s reach, his cheeks now blushing a furious red for more than one reason.

Kun wanders over to Taeyong, who asks him, “What do you think of the gallery?”

“It’s very nice,” Kun says. “But I was wondering; is Ten the model of that picture over there with the blue and pink paint?”

Taeyong laughs, looking absolutely angelic as he does and says, “Yeah, he was.” The only things Kun can think when he looks at Taeyong are: holy fuck he’s the most gorgeous human on Earth and god clearly has favorites. Doyoung comes over to them and is about to say something, but Ten, who wasn’t standing here five seconds ago.

“I didn’t think everyone would be seeing my dick today, but that’s chill.” All of them laugh, including Kun, even if he’s still a little awkward.

“Which one is Ten?” Doyoung asks, smile showing his teeth and gums and maybe, just maybe, Kun has the urge to kiss him again, but he would never admit that out loud.

“The one done primarily in blue with little bits of pink,” Taeyong says, pointing.

“You know, that’s not a bad dick,” Doyoung points out. His cheeks are light pink along with the top of his ears.

Taeyong giggles, hand over his mouth shyly, and says, “Ten thought it was much more than ‘not bad.’” Everyone bursts into a new set of giggles, except for Ten who keeps a straight face.

Completely deadpan, Ten replies, “I think I have a fabulous penis.” This sends everyone into even more laughter. Kun can barely stand up from laughing so hard. He puts his arms around Ten to support his weight.

“Okay, guys, this has been so much fun, but I have to go and do artist stuff. I hope you all have a great day,” Taeyong says, leaving them alone and bringing back the awkwardness between the three of them.

While the trio are walking out of the museum, Ten breaks the silence by saying, “I thought it would take a couple of dates before either of you saw my dick. Also, Yuta texted saying that we can pick up our assignment now.” Kun and Doyoung both freeze and feel their faces heat up. But Ten is already several steps ahead of them and calls, “Come on, slowpokes!” The two of them shake off their awkwardness and catch up to Ten.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“What did you think of the art exhibit?” Ten asks.

“Uh,” Doyoung meets Ten’s eyes in the rear view mirror as Kun is in the passenger seat with his headphones in. “I thought it was cool how Taeyong had his work featured in a gallery, and all of the pieces were very well done. Speaking of, how do you know him?” Taeyong didn’t know about the tattoo’s meanings and he lives all the way in Seattle so Doyoung is curious.

“He’s my ex,” Ten answers simply. “He doesn’t know I’m in the Rings and I broke things off before he could really figure out what was going on. And besides, I wanted to live in LA full time, so we split on good terms.”

Doyoung frowns, wishing for Kun to start paying attention to their conversation. Now, Doyoung has a new image in his mind of Taeyong, and it isn’t a good one. One of Taeyong and Ten happily share kisses in the morning, drawing and painting together, holding hands as they walk through the streets of Seattle. The surge of jealousy and the urge to claim Ten for his, made Doyoung want to hit his head against a wall. Ten isn’t even his to claim, Ten is shared by many but owned by none. So why does Doyoung want him so bad even if there’s no rhyme or reason to the application of his feelings?

The car fills with silence, almost choking Doyoung as Ten drives back to Yuta’s office, either oblivious or ignoring the tension by turning up the radio. Thankfully, the silence doesn’t last long, as Ten pulls into the now familiar parking lot.

“I’m excited to be back here again,” Ten admits as the trio walk towards the main doors that actually have light on behind them this time. “Yuta always hires the most interesting workers, and the receptionist here is such a flirt. Always fun to socialize with him.” Doyoung would swear on his life that Kun’s eye twitches when Ten says flirt, but he won’t comment on it either way. All he’ll do is relate to it.

Doyoung’s jealousy and mild annoyance sparks feelings of guilt and embarrassment as he tries to stop thinking altogether. He knows there’s a light flush on his cheeks, but hopes that it can pass off as an effect of the cooling air around them as the sun moves lower in the sky. Huffing out a frustrated breath, Doyoung lets himself be guided inside the building, not having any motivation to sort through his jumbled mind.

“Chenle!” Ten chirps, strolling right up to the desk in the lobby of the building. The man sat at the desk has light green hair, slightly washed out with a dress shirt. A smile overtook the man’s expression as he met Ten’s excited greeting. “It’s been so long.”

“It has been way too long, you should take me out for ice cream while you’re in town,” Chenle laughs, bright and bubbly. The way Chenle’s aura contrasts to Doyoung’s makes Doyoung sneak a few feet closer to Kun, who doesn’t say anything.

“Okay, deal,” Ten says, throwing a wink in Chenle’s direction, emitting yet another ring of laughter from Chenle as crinkles form around his bright eyes. “Anyways, care to take us to Yuta?”

“Not a problem.” Chenle gladly stands from his uncomfortable swivel chair and ruffles his tufts of styled hair instinctively as he moves around his desk and gestures for the men to follow him down the nearest hallway and past a series of doors that most likely led to other offices. “He’s right down here at the end now, just recently moved after having it remodeled.”

“He really does have too much money on his hands,” Ten observes. “How’s he been doing? I know something happened with Johnny.” Now Doyoung is even more sure that Kun is tense. Doyoung wants to try and ease that tension, but he bites back the urge to say anything. Kun is clearly a very private person and doesn’t want Doyoung or Ten meddling in his affairs. 

“Ah.” Chenle purses his lips, halting his steps to stand in front of Yuta’s door. “Not so well. You’ll see for yourself, I’m sure.” Ten nods, a frown creasing his expression as he steps forward to enter. He nods towards Chenle, dismissing him. Chenle walks away with his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks and Doyoung watches him go with a sour taste in his mouth. Ten twists the knob and pushes open the door, sparing only a small glance back to Doyoung and Kun.

Upon walking in, it’s clear that the designer of the office liked to keep things sophisticated and professional looking. The desk is sleek, made of dark colored wood that matches the black chairs that rest in front of it on cream colored carpet. While the original set up of the office is professional, the details are anything but. 

“Yuta,” Ten calls to the tall black office chair that faces the liquor cabinet instead of towards the door. Spinning around in his chair, Yuta reveals himself, tie loosened, half empty vodka bottle in hand, and eye bags so dark they are nearly black. “You really shouldn’t be doing this to yourself.”

“I’m going to be alone forever,” Yuta pitifully whines, setting the bottle on his desk and slumping back in his chair with a disheartened sigh.

“You just haven’t found the right person,” Ten tries. “They’ll come around.”

“I only want Johnny, but he keeps fooling around with  _ Taeil _ when he doesn’t even like Taeil in that way. He claims he loves some fucking agent of his, but his agent is difficult or something.” Yuta takes another swig of the vodka and his eyes shine with tears. Doyoung bites his cheek and looks at Kun who’s starting at the carpet. It doesn’t take a genius that the agent Johnny loves is Kun, but Doyoung still couldn’t put the pieces together as to why Kun hates him so much, and to why Johnny won’t give him up.

“I can assure you,” Ten starts, stepping forward to stand directly in front of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing look in his eyes. “Getting day drunk isn’t going to win his heart. Besides, you were already drunk earlier. That doesn’t mean you should go drink more.” Kun looks like he wants to say something, but is holding back. Maybe he had some encouragement for Yuta?

Yuta merely lets out a small sigh, shoulders slumped as he throws his arm across the desk to send the vodka bottle flying off and into the wall. Kun jumps and moves closer to Doyoung institutionally. Doyoung grabs onto Kun's waist to steady him, pretending not to look as Kun’s cheeks flush a bit. Despite being still a bit awkward with each other, Kun only adjusts his footing and doesn’t say anything.

“Here,” Yuta lifts up a manila folder from the corner of his desk and holds it out to Ten. Ten takes it and gives Yuta a curt nod. “There’s enough money in there for the three of you to stay at a hotel for two nights.” He waves his hands dismissively, leaning back in his chair again and staring up at the ceiling. “Now please leave while I still have some of my dignity left.”

Kun steps out of Doyoung’s grip and walks up to Yuta’s desk. He planets his hands firmly on the top and looks Yuta directly in the eyes, “I can assure you that the agent in question has no feelings for Mr. Suh and Mr. Suh is only deluding himself into thinking there’s a chance with them.”

“How do you know that?” Yuta scowls back, slapping both hands onto the desk and standing to mimic Kun.

“Because  _ I’m _ that agent,” Kun barks. It’s a strange sight to see Kun so mad, especially to someone that is his superior. While not his direct boss, Yuta is still a much higher rank than Kun and can screw him over if he wishes. Kun storms out of the room without another word and Yuta glares at him as he goes. Ten opens his mouth to speak, but Yuta holds up his hand. “Get out of my sight.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“Now we’ve got to find a hotel,” Ten states as he shook the car keys in his hands while walking towards where they’d parked. Kun ignores him and walks ahead to get into the front seat. Doyoung hops in the backseat and starts pulling up nearby hotels.

“What direction is the cemetery from here? We should probably go in that direction,” Doyoung suggests from the backseat, scrolling through hotel options on his cell phone.

“North.”

“Super helpful, Ten. I will see what I can do,” Doyoung decides. After a few minutes of scrolling he finds one close enough and not overly expensive. “Start by getting on the freeway and heading north towards Washington. The hotel I found is like an hour away but it’s cheap and north like you said.”

Kun leans his head against the window and appears to drift off to sleep as Ten drives. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, Ten looks at Doyoung, who’s occupied with the directions.

“Hey, Doyoung,” Ten says softly, breaking the silence. “What do you think of Kun?”

“What do you mean?” Doyoung asks, feigning innocence.

“You two seem closer is all.” Ten keeps his tone even, like he’s trying not to give anything away. “Do you like him or something?”

“What’s it to you?” Doyoung prods.

“You’re my apprentice and your personal life matters to me,” Ten lies. Doyoung only knows he’s lying by the way his eyes won’t meet Doyoung’s through the mirror. Ten isn’t one to shy away from eye contact usually, always one to intimidate the other party first.

“I think I do,” Doyoung confesses, half truth half lie. Doyoung isn’t sure of any of his feelings anymore. He knows he’s gay and has for a while, but he’s never really had a boyfriend that lasted for long enough to become important in his life, but there’s something about Kun that he wants to protect, to lift up, to nurture. But like in a gay way. The only problem is Kun wants nothing to do with him and Doyoung also might have feelings for Ten.

Doyoung had lightly alluded to it before when Kun lost the bet with Ten, but Doyoung had also lost a similar bet. Only they didn’t just kiss. Doyoung was shirtless with his pants undone before either of them had the brains to stop. Ten and Doyoung had only known each other for a few weeks and Ten thought jumping into something like that, especially with Doyoung being much less experienced, is a recipe for disaster. Doyoung would have to agree, but it made their relationship strictly platonic, while Doyoung caught feelings.

After the reveal of Ten’s harem, Doyoung assumed Ten didn’t want Doyoung catching feelings. Well it’s too late for that. He’s caught two batches of feelings and now doesn’t know what to do about them. 

“But,” Doyoung begins. “I don’t think I’ll act on it anytime soon.”

“Why?”

“Because--” Before Doyoung can get any further, Kun stirs and sits up.

“Are we there yet?” he asks, groggily. And that’s the end of that. 

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“You know what we should do?” Doyoung looks up from his phone to raise an eyebrow at Ten, waiting for an explanation. Kun came into the room from the bathroom and flopped down next to Doyoung on the bed. Doyoung slides over to make some more space for Kun. “Let’s go to a bar or something,” Ten finally suggests. “Go have dinner. Hang out, bond, be guys. I don’t know, just something fun.”

Doyoung remembers what happened the last time they went out and got drunk. It was a mess to say the least. When Doyoung went out drinking with Ten before, Ten literally burned down buildings for fun (one of his skills as a Rings member) and then Doyoung had to haul his ass home before either of them got arrested.

“Sounds good to me,” Kun agrees, and Doyoung’s head swivels around to look at Kun. “What do you think, Doyoung?”

“Uhh.” Doyoung looks over at Ten before dipping his gaze back down shyly and clearing his throat. “Yeah, Why not?”

“Great!” Ten cheers, smiling widely as he reaches for his keys. “We can leave everything here and go to some local joint then. Come on, let’s go--”

“Chill, Ten,” Kun sighs. “If I’m going out, you gotta give me twenty minutes to get ready because there is no way in hell I am paying for my own drinks.” Hopping up, Kun goes to his suitcase and digs around for a dark green velvet dress and a small bag of makeup along with what looks like tights. But Doyoung can only assume since he’s not that knowledgeable in any form of clothes. He tries to not look like a slob, but there is only effort when needed.

Kun goes back into the bathroom, and Doyoung looks over what he and Ten are wearing. Basically skinny jeans and shirts, only Doyoung’s is a loose fitting white sweater and Ten is wearing a skin tight galaxy patterned shirt. They don’t look awful, but no means, but no one is buying them drinks.

When Kun exits the bathroom, exactly eighteen minutes later, Doyoung feels his throat go dry. The dark green velvet dress is covered in silver stitching of stars with sheer, full length sleeves. Kun’s tights are solid black, shaping his legs in ways that makes Doyoung’s head spin, and his makeup is simple; black eyeliner, light lip gloss, mascara maybe. Yeah, Doyoung knows nothing about beauty either. He washes his face twice a day and he’s not ugly, so. But Kun, wow, he shines like the stars. 

“Nice outfit,” Ten comments, eyeing Kun up and down who seems much more confident than he did earlier.

“Thanks. Maybe if you’re nice to me I’ll get someone to buy you a drink.” Kun winks and goes to stand by the door and waits for Doyoung and Ten to pick their jaws up off the ground.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“Go on in,” the hostess of the club says after checking Doyoung and Ten’s ID. Kun bats his eyes and doesn’t have to fork over his ID at all, which would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact that the hostess thought Doyoung was nearly thirty. He is only twenty-six, let him live. “You can get drinks and appetizers at the bar, just flag down whoever is working and they’ll help you out.”

“Thanks,” Kun replies, making his voice higher than usual to come across as female, which in Doyoung’s opinion, he shouldn’t have to do, but now is not the time for Doyoung’s gender role destroying revolution.

Ten smiles towards the woman and moves past her, Kun and Doyoung trailing behind. Looking around Doyoung notices the lively interior, the glowing dance floor located in the center of the room surrounded by different tables and booths with seated people that brought on the talkative atmosphere; and to the far left of the dance floor, there is a bar, neon lights lining the edge with a line of black leather bar stools.

“Booth?” Ten suggests. “Or do we just want to sit at the bar?”

“Let’s go sit at the bar,” Kun replies, dress swishing and he leads them over to the bar. Doyoung and Ten sit on either side of Kun and Doyoung flags down the bartender.

Doyoung clears his throat, “Do either of you want drinks? I’ll buy the first round.” Kun coos and pinches Doyoung’s cheek.

“Thanks, Doyoungie.” 

“What can I get you?” The bartender says as he approaches the trio, throwing a white towel over his shoulder to sit on the sleeve of his button down. “The happy hour specials are on the menu if you’re interested.”

“A shot of vodka,” Kun says, voice once again in that fake, high pitched tone.

“Any recommendations?” Ten asks, gazing up at the menu with a thoughtful expression. 

“I make a solid Bloody Mary,” the bartender offers.

“Yeah, that sounds good. Doyoung, what do you want?”

“I’ll just have water for now,” Doyoung says. “Start a tab with this card.” Handing over his credit card, Doyoung sighs. The bartender walks away and Ten looks at Doyoung.

“Why aren’t you drinking?”

“I have a feeling you two will get smashed, so I’m going to start out with water and maybe have a beer or something later.” Doyoung shrugs and Ten frowns.

“I can drive drunk,” Ten protests and Kun shoves Ten lightly.

“You can’t drive drunk; that’s illegal,” Kun says, and Doyoung raises a brow at Kun. “Okay, we’re criminals, but can we please keep the illegal activities to a minimum?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Ten whines, and the bartender returns with their drinks. Noticeably with an extra shot of vodka for Kun.

“Thank you,” Kun replies, smiling. Why Kun’s fake voice rubbed Doyoung the wrong way he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Kun throws back the first shot and lightly licks his lips and the bartender has to duck his head and excuse himself. After the bartender is gone, Kun tosses back the second one.

Doyoung sips his water as Ten slurps down his Bloody Mary. By the time Doyoung is done with his first glass of water, Kun is already five shots in and having a great time. Aside from Kun’s seemingly limitless consumption of alcohol, Doyoung notices the way Ten’s eyes linger on Kun. There’s plenty of other things to look at in the bar, hell, Kun is staring at the dance floor longingly, but Ten’s eyes never stray.

“Ten,” Kun coos, placing a hand on Ten’s shoulder as he looks over at him with a hazy seductive gaze. “Let’s dance.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Ten replies, hopping off the bar stool and guiding Kun to the dance floor. Doyoung isn’t sure if Ten is hammered enough that he’ll fall over from attempting to dance, but he decides to keep his eyes on the pair just to be safe.

Kun laughs at something Ten says, hands sliding up Ten’s chest to sneak around his neck. Leaning in, Kun whispers something that makes Ten blush. Then Kun turns around as the music changes and pushes himself back against Ten, doing the kind of moves that leaves Ten looking breathless. Ten’s hands grasp at Kun’s arm and stop him from getting too touchy, which surprises Doyoung. Ten must be more sober than he thought.

Spinning around, Kun pouts and Ten and moves his hands as he talks, almost erratic in the flashing neon lights of the overall dark club. Ten pulls Kun into his arms and they lightly sway, completely off beat to the music. Kun looks up and Ten, then everything seems to go in slow motion. Ten’s hands tighten on Kun’s waist, Kun leans in and then their lips connect.

Seeing them intertwined like that lights something aflame in Doyoung. Everything is stifling hot, practically burning. He can’t tear his eyes away, but he still needs something to drink. Fumbling for his glass of water, Doyoung takes a large gulp. They keep kissing and maybe that’s a glimpse of tongue Doyoung sees. 

Doyoung accidentally meets Ten’s eyes and suddenly Ten is pulling away from Kun. Kun’s eyes are blown wide and his lips are spit slicked. He wipes his lips on his sleeve and Doyoung has to tear his eyes away.

Ten grabs Kun’s arm and pulls him back to the bar, Kun whining and protesting as they walk. Kun yanks his arm out of Ten’s hold and says, “I was having fun.”

“You’re drunk, let’s go home,” Ten replies, crossing his arms, decidedly more sober than just a few minutes ago. The images of them kissing flash and Doyoung doesn’t think they are leaving anytime soon.

Ten ends up having to drag Kun out of the bar while Doyoung pays, and attempts to keep his sanity

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

“Hmph,” Kun sighs into his pillow as he flops down onto the hotel bed, not bothering to change out of his dress or tights. Doyoung slowly and carefully makes his way to the second bed in the dark room, sliding off his shoes before rolling onto the bed with a quiet sigh. Ten empties his pockets, puts his phone in the charger and walks over to Kun, rubs his shoulder, and tries to get him to flip over.

“Kun,” Ten speaks softly. “Don’t sleep like that. You could choke or something if you puke up the alcohol you had. Plus, while that dress is very pretty it won’t feel good to sleep in.” Kun whines at Ten, and Doyoung isn’t sure what he says, but Ten is leaning over Kun and seems to be removing his dress.

Kun sits up and Doyoung can see the outline of his back as the fabric falls off his shoulders. Turning his head away, Doyoung tries to avoid the soft sounds of fabric rustling against the sheets. And then, the sounds of Ten climbing into bed with Kun.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Jungwoo shuts off the water in the shower and climbs out carefully as not to slip and fall. He grabs the towel he left out on the counter and starts to dry off his hair. Before he can cover up, the bathroom door swings open and Yukhei comes in.

“Oh, I didn’t think you would be up so early, but I need to brush my teeth--” Yukhei stops his rambling when he sees a flash of burgundy on Jungwoo’s thigh.

“Is something wrong?” Jungwoo asks, fingers crossed hoping Yukhei didn’t see anything before he could wrap the towel back around his waist.

“What’s on your leg, angel?” Yukhei asks, not meeting Jungwoo’s eyes.

“It’s nothing,” Jungwoo stutters, tears already springing to his eyes as fear rises in his throat.

“Jungwoo,” Yukhei says, voice firm. “I know when you’re lying to me. What is it?”

“I said it’s nothing,” Jungwoo strikes back, pulling the towel tighter around him, as if that can hide the greatest mistake of his life permanently etched into his skin.

“Is it what I think it is?” Yukhei presses and it’s really none of his business, but Jungwoo understands why he’s pushing. Their eyes meet and while Jungwoo’s are empty, albeit glassy, Yukhei’s are confused and hurt. Without thinking, Jungwoo adjusts the towel so his tattoo is visible to Yukhei.

Yukhei looks shocked, he even leans closer to make sure that’s really what he’s seeing. His fingers lightly brush over the skin of the tattoo and Jungwoo resists the urge to shiver. Yukhei’s mouth falls into a hard line when he sees that the first date is filled in.

And the date is from three years ago.

“Woo,” Yukhei starts. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He pulls away and braces himself back against the counter, breathing heavily. “Why did you go through with the initiation? It’s been three years and you never told me.” With each word Yukhei’s voice gets higher and higher until he’s nearly hysterical.

Jungwoo doesn’t reply, tears rolling down his cheeks in waves. There isn’t anything he can say or do to make the situation any better, but that doesn’t change the fact that he wishes he could.

“How could you do this to us?” Yukhei asks, looking at Jungwoo with hooded eyes, biting back unshed tears. Jungwoo can’t take it. He can’t hold back his voice any longer.

“I didn’t join because I wanted to!” Jungwoo snaps. He’s overflowing with anger. It isn’t at Yukhei directly, but he’s the easiest target and the only one who won’t punish him for speaking. “I was manipulated by Johnny to join, and then he got to my brother! He convinced Doyoung that the only way to see me again would be to join the Rings. But I haven’t seen him at all. Honestly, I’ve seen Ten more than him.”

“Ten?” Yukhei’s nose twitches then there are tears spilling from his eyes. “You mean you know Ten and didn’t think to mention this when I opened my heart to you.” Jungwoo wishes he wasn’t having this conversation right now, already wanting to rip his hair out from the stress.

“I was scared, okay?” Jungwoo is shaking, trembling like a leaf and he can’t stop. Yukhei is full on sobbing at this point, and Jungwoo has collapsed to the floor. Staring at the floor, Jungwoo feels regret for all of his actions leading up to this point in his life. He hears Yukhei step away from the counter and out of the door, doing nothing to stop him. The final straw is the apartment door slamming a minute later.

Now Jungwoo is all alone. No one standing by his side. No Doyoung. No Yukhei. No one. Jungwoo lays flat on the floor and stares up at the ceiling. What’s the point now? With no purpose, no family and no friends, what is there really left for Jungwoo? He’s truly pathetic now.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Doyoung slowly opens his eyes and groans, feeling the memories from last night come back to him in quick surging waves. He rubs at his eyes and glances around, trying to discern what time it is. He’s only been asleep for around two hours but they have a job to do, which Doyoung thankfully set an alarm for. The digital clock next to his bed says 1:47 am and Doyoung is surprised he is even awake before it went off. He glances over at Kun and Ten, still slightly wrapped together. Ten’s arm is around Kun and the sheets are slipping off them enough to see the top half of Kun’s chest. Sighing, Doyoung dresses for the day without another thought.

Flicking through Ten’s things, Doyoung eventually finds the case file, but not before finding a ridiculous amount of lube, some band aids and chap stick. This might be the bag Ten robbed a convenience store with, who knows. Sitting on the ground, reading through the file, Doyoung feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns his head to see it’s Ten, only dressed in pajama pants looking down at him.

“Good morning,” Ten mumbles groggily while trying to read over Doyoung’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe you were stupid enough to convince us go get drunk last night before looking at the case file. Which, by the way, requires for us to get up stupid early.” Doyoung pauses and yawns, proving his point with a tired haze in his eyes. He knows he doesn’t look anywhere near attractive with his hair standing up, probably red eyes and sallow skin, but Ten doesn’t look at him any differently.

“Are you okay?” Ten asks, his hand squeezing lightly at Doyoung’s shoulder. Doyoung feels a small lump in his throat, but swallows it down with a nod. Ten always treats everything not as seriously as he should, so seeing him being so kind, especially when Ten drank a bunch and Doyoung didn’t even touch any alcohol, it makes Doyoung’s heart feel funny. “You don’t seem okay.”

Doyoung sighs and doesn’t meet Ten’s eyes. Ten gestures for Doyoung to stand up and Doyoung does, shocked when Ten envelops him in a warm. Ten’s face presses into Doyoung’s neck and Doyoung can feel the heat radiating from Ten’s warm skin. Hesitantly, Doyoung wraps his arms back around Ten, cold fingers meeting Ten’s warm back. Ten flinches at the contact, but only squeezes Doyoung tighter.

“You don’t have to do this, y’know.” Ten holds Doyoung tighter.

“Yes, I do. You clearly need a hug. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but just know that I’m here for you.” Ten’s words are slightly muffled due to Ten’s head shoved into the crook of Doyoung’s neck, hot breath fanning out along Ten’s skin.

“Go get dressed. I’ll wake up Kun,” Doyoung says after a moment, moving out of Ten’s arms and going over to Kun, who’s unconsciously spread out across the entire bed, snuggled up in all of the blankets.

Doyoung bends down until he’s close enough to Kun’s face and softly says, “Hey, Kun. Time to wake up. We’ve got a job to do.” Kun wrinkles his nose, mumbles something about five more minutes and goes back to sleep, so Doyoung pokes his nose until his eyes flutter open.

“I don’t wanna get up though,” Kun mumbles, pouting up at Doyoung.

“Get dressed, Kun.” Soon enough Kun groans, rolling onto his side before opening his eyes properly and meeting Doyoung’s drained gaze as he watches Kun attempt to stay in bed a little longer.

Once everyone is dressed and ready for their early morning adventure, Kun is still a little irritable and sleepy from his hangover. Ten had drank a lot too, but he handles his alcohol better and didn’t drink as much.

“Y’know,” Kun starts as the trio are leaving the hotel, the sun nowhere near rising. “I’m not usually the type of guy to willingly wake up in the middle of the night for leisure activities. But since that’s what we’re doing… what are our plans for this cold morning?”

“Our plans are to steal a bunch of jewels from this dead guy, Luhan. Of course he’s rich, so much that he requested that he was to be buried with all his precious treasures so they would go with him to the afterlife. Or some shit like that, not completely sure,” Doyoung explains as he’s getting in the car. Ten is fully awake, proving it to himself by pressing harshly on the gas as they zoom out of the hotel parking lot with the smooth hum of the engine that picked up with the speed of the vehicle.

It’s extremely early, far too early for the three of them to be up and about conducting questionable acts that would most definitely get them arrested if they were to be caught. It‘s just nearing 2:50 am, the sun still hidden behind the dark horizon for another couple hours. It works perfectly to hide the devious work of the trio, setting the scene for a night of concealed illegal activities.

Ten pulls up to the edge of the driveway and pauses right before the hood of the car enters into the pool of light that spills from the bright lantern on either post of the gate. He looks over to Kun, who already has his laptop out and is furiously pounding at the keyboard, maybe a little harsher than usual.

“Are you working on-”

“Yep,” Kun interrupts, pausing his typing to glance over everything and make sure there aren't any typos. Once he got the program running, the lights go dark, the fence loses it’s glimmer, and the cameras go dead. “You’re clear.”

“Wow,” Doyoung observes, impressed with how quickly the security is breached. 

“Alright,” Ten says. “Let’s go, Doyoung. Kun, you’ll stay here then? Just watch the cameras and make sure no one comes in.”

“Mhm,” Kun mumbles, already focused on his laptop. “Work quickly, don’t be idiots.” Ten and Doyoung climb out of the vehicle, quickly sliding on their masks and gloves as they walk carelessly through the front gates of the cemetery. Ten leads the way to a medium-sized stone building with small gargoyles perched atop the roof, posing as watchful eyes of the grave. Doyoung lets his gaze wander to the rest of the cemetery, breath visible in front of him and headstones seeming to watch him while Ten works on the lock protecting Luhan from the outside world. Or protecting the outside world from him. There’s several other above ground tombs in different parts of the cemetery, but not so many as to crowd the space. They were clearly only for the kind of people with so much money they literally couldn’t spend it in a lifetime, a category that Luhan easily fell into.

Ten opens the door to the crypt and Doyoung follows behind, double checking for anyone around them or any devices that could trigger an alarm. He sees nothing, but stays on edge just to be safe.

“Doyoung,” Ten says. “This one is Luhan.” Ten points to one of the coffins made of stone that looks exactly like all of the others except for the nameplate on the side.

“Let’s get the cover off then,” Doyoung advises, easily becoming focused on the task at hand. He goes to the top end of the coffin and slowly starts working the cover off with his gloved fingers, digging into the edges, lifting the heavy material and beginning to slide it off. Ten moves to help ease it down, both releasing the breath they’d been holding while standing up to dust their hands on their pants as they were met with the musky and slightly rancid smell of death. The view of Luhan’s body is disgruntling, basically a skeleton, and he would've been if he was allowed to decompose properly in the ground. But he had been preserved almost too well, though Doyoung can’t deny the sense of excitement in seeing the artifacts placed delicately around his corpse.

Ten pulls a black bag from his pocket and begins to grab at anything that looks to be valuable on Luhan’s body-- necklaces, bracelets, random jewels scattered around to keep Luhan company. All except his rings, which Doyoung was trying to remove from his bony fingers. The first two rings come off easy enough. Once they’re free, Doyoung drops them into Ten’s bag. But upon reaching for Luhan’s wedding ring, a gold band with small diamonds inlaid into it, he’s faced with a problem.

“Ten?” Doyoung inquires. “How do I get the ring off?” Ten only sighs in response, stopping his motions.

“You’re going to hate this, but we don’t have a shit ton of time.” Ten quickly grabs the finger and pulls it off Luhan’s body with a sickening snap. Doyoung has seen some weird shit (mainly from opening Ten’s laptop that one time and being attacked with strange hentai), but this is a whole new level of weird. He’s further surprised when Ten carelessly tosses the finger into the bag with everything else.

Doyoung grits his teeth and takes one big breath, trying not to think too much about it as he breaks off the remaining two fingers on Luhan’s body. Ten closes the bag and they check the coffin one last time, seemingly coming up empty-handed.

Wordlessly and with only a second of contented eye contact they gather their things and leave without leaving any evidence of their presence. Once outside, Doyoung drinks in the fresh air before sprinting back to the car with the unspoken rule of the first person to get back to the car being chosen as the designated driver in his mind to motivate him.

Ten whips open the drivers door and jumps in. A few seconds later, Doyoung hops in the back without a word. Twisting the keys of the ignition, Ten laughs and rips his mask off.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Once back at the hotel, Doyoung and Ten lay the jewelry (and the fingers) out on some cloth so as not to leave any remnants of Luhan’s DNA. 

“Come on, Kun,” Ten urges with a pleading expression who’s laying on the opposite bed, typing away on his laptop. “It’ll go so much faster with you helping.”

“I already said no,” Kun huffs without looking up. “I’m still hungover as fuck, so I’m going back to bed for a couple hours.”

“Kun, if you don’t come over here I might just put one of these fingers in your ass,” Ten replies, pouting and Doyoung isn’t a hundred percent sure that Ten isn’t serious.

“You’re just lucky I really don’t like dead people’s fingers and am too tired to cuss at you,” Kun sighs defeatedly as he closes his laptop. Ten just smiles.

“Thank you,” Ten coos. They all work quietly on cleaning the jewelry of any DNA-- both Luhan’s and theirs. Kun lightly starts humming some song and Doyoung polishes the gems while Ten does something with the fingers.

“What are we going to do with those fingers?” Kun asks. Ten chuckles and sets the fingers to the side.

“I already cleaned them off, so now we just have to cut them up and then dump the remains,” Ten explains.

“Fun,” Doyoung comments.

“Then we gotta give the remains to Yuta,” Ten adds, and Doyoung deflates a little bit. He isn’t one to really value things like that, but the jewelry is gorgeous and the only thing convincing Doyoung not to try one on or steal one for himself is the fact that he collected them from the tomb of a dead man less than two hours ago.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

3rd Newspaper Article

The Scarlet Rings are back at it again. Lu Han, also known as Luhan- was a very rich millionaire that lived in the Seattle area until his death at 69 in 1996. He lived a very prominent life in Hollywood as a movie producer, until he reached the age of 65, then he moved out to Seattle.

Upon his death, he was buried with all his valuables and had no remaining family. Now, 26 years after his death, all of his jewelry was stolen- along with three of his fingers. The fingers have not been found by police and are assumed to be gone forever.

**_-Anonymous Writer, The Daily Tombstone_ **

**_Anonymous Writer has written many articles about The Scarlet Rings and has a degree in psychology._ **

Police Report from Seattle Police Department

**Case No:** WA-8804783521

**Date:** 12/6/22

**Reporting Officer:** S. Dong

**Prepared By:** S. Dong

**Incident:** Three fingers, two (2) necklaces, six (6) rings, a diamond, and three (3) bracelets.

**Detail of Event:** No witnesses, so there isn’t much to on except for what’s missing. The security camera footage goes dead at 2:57 am and comes back on at 3:28 am. Same goes for the electric fence.

**Actions Taken:** The body and tomb were checked for DNA, along with the cemetery's security cameras. But nothing could be found, which makes us believe that there must have been at least three of them all working together. One to take out the cameras and electric fence and at least two to break in and lift the lid off the coffin.

**Summary:** Some criminals (at least 3) stole jewelry and three fingers from Lu Han and left no DNA evidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yell at me on twitter + leave a comment if you enjoyed :)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/carrotyeol)


	3. The Things You Do For Money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doyoung, Ten, and Kun continue their adventure and meet a few new faces while becoming closer. Kun starts to realize his feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy so funny story. this took like way longer than i thought it would but i have good news ! next chapter will be posted for kun fan week which is in the first week of january so i have a good reason not to leave you hanging TT

“We’re heading to Spokane,” Ten says, smiling. Kun and Doyoung aren’t really listening, but they make some vague sound of confirmation to appease Ten. The familiar hum of the car seemed to be a never-ending song for the trio, as they are back on the road once again.

“Can you pass me the water bottle?” Doyoung asks, leaning forward from the back seat. Kun turns his head slightly to glance at him before grabbing the bottle for him. Kun refocuses his attention back on his report and thinks he’s near the end, but then he feels Doyoung’s breath on the back of his neck.

“Doyoung, can you please give me some space?” Kun asks. He’s in such a weird mood for no reason and doesn’t want to take it out on Doyoung. He just needs to finish this incident report and then he can play games on his phone for a few hours or nap.

“Yeah, is something wrong?” Doyoung counters. Kun really doesn’t want his mood to be that obvious to everyone around him, so he sucks in a breath and forces a smile.

“No, everything is fine,” Kun replies. He can’t place the exact reason for his mood, but it probably has something to do with feeling like he’s on a time crunch. Yet another reason that Kun isn’t fit for this fucking job, he can work well under pressure, yet long time crunches totally fuck with him mentally.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, now shut up, I’m trying to work.” That’s the end of that, even though Kun feels a bit of guilt for snapping at Doyoung like that. Ten has quieted down a bit and that makes Kun feel a bit worse.

Twenty miles later, the silence is driving Kun mad. He wanted them to just give him a bit of space, not work around him like he’s on Dance Moms.

“You two are allowed to speak y’know,” Kun says. Doyoung looks up, but doesn’t say anything and Ten perks up a bit.

“Great, because I was thinking of this story I don’t think I’ve told either of you before,” Ten replies. “Do you want to hear it?”

“I mean why not?” Kun really doesn’t care what Ten says, he just wants something to fill the empty silence.

“I feel like I’ve heard every story of yours, Ten,” Doyoung chimes in. “So I’ll be impressed if I actually don’t know this one.”

“Well, I basically took on a job meant for two people by myself, which was not a very smart decision,” Ten begins. “But I got in easily and was very close to getting out until I realized I couldn’t jump the fence while holding a dead guy.”

“Most people can’t do that,” Doyoung points out.

“Yes, but I thought I was invincible.”

“Isn’t that still the way you act now?” Kun asks, holding back a giggle.

“Ha ha, very funny, Kun. But anyway, I got the dead person most of the way over the fence and then I didn’t think I could drop them safely, so I climbed up with the body on one side,” Ten explains. “I ended up getting over, but I tore my pants and that was of course the one day I wore embarrassing patterned underwear.”

“You don’t seem like the type to wear patterned underwear,” Kun points out. “More like silk boxers only.”

“Kun raises a valid point, this is inconsistent with literally everything else about you,” Doyoung says and Kun laughs.

“This was before I understood the true glory of silk,” Ten replies, which causes Kun and Doyoung to burst out laughing, effectively raising the mood of the car a lot. “Okay, there’s a gas station in like five miles. If either of you want to drive, now is your chance.”

“I’ll drive,” Doyoung says. “Provided you pay for snacks.”

“I’m not made of money!” Ten counters.

“Prove it,” Kun adds in. “I don’t think you can, so until such time I will assume you’re made of money. Literally.”

“Agreed,” Doyoung says.

“Fine, I’ll pay for snacks,” Ten relents, so Doyoung and Kun high five and cheer. The car quiets down a bit after that, but Kun doesn’t feel any tension like earlier. He watches the fields passing by and feels like he’s being lulled to sleep again, but before he can fully fall asleep, Ten pulls off the freeway.

Kun sits up because he’s not going to miss the opportunity for free snacks. Ten pulls into the nearest gas station and pops open the gas tank.

“Doyoung get out on Kun’s side because otherwise you’ll fuck up the gas tank,” Ten says and Doyoung slides over and gets out on Kun’s side. “Go inside and pick out snacks. You have until I finish pumping the gas to pick what you want.”

“Let’s go,” Doyoung says and they power walk over to the gas station. Kun feels like a little kid again as he looks over all the different options for junk food. He grabs a can of sour cream and onion Pringles along with sweet ropes, jellybeans, and an Arizona. Anything else Kun wouldn’t be able to eat anyway. Kun walks to the front counter and sees Doyoung with way more things than him.

“Are we trying to bleed Ten dry or something?” Kun asks, setting his stuff up on the counter.

“No, I picked some things for him, which is the Red Bull, bungles, peach rings and a can of beer. Ten would never admit to liking can beer because he’s classy or whatever, but he loves the stuff. And everything else is for me. I have a hollow leg, as they say,” Doyoung explains.

“Will that be altogether?” The worker behind the counter asks and Kun and Doyoung look up for once.

“Yes, our friend is paying for it,” Doyoung replies, right as Ten walks into the gas station. “There he is.”

“If I have no money after this, I’m selling Kun’s computer,” Ten threatens. Kun and Doyoung take a few steps away from the counter to let Ten pay in peace.

“Does he realize that my laptop is very necessary for our job?” Kun whispers to Doyoung and Doyoung laughs.

“I think he knows, but is much more concerned with the pretend state of his bank account to care,” Doyoung replies. “I’m lucky to be driving because then he’ll leave me alone.”

“Are you saying you’ve trapped me with a whiny Ten?” All the blood drains from Kun’s face. “Doyoung, how could you?”

“I’m very sorry, but sometimes I have to put myself first.” Doyoung holds up his hands in defense and Kun walks back over to Ten, who’s arms are full of the bags of stuff. Maybe Kun can steal the can of beer away and drink it himself.

They all walk back to the car and Doyoung hops in the driver's seat and Ten places all the snacks on the passenger seat, which forces Kun to stay in the back with Ten.

Ten takes Doyoung’s seat and grabs his things from the bag of treats. Kun sighs, decides against pulling his laptop out again and asks Doyoung to pass his things back before settling into his chair.

“Hey, Kun,” Ten stage whispers. “If we are in the backseat together, that means we can trash talk Doyoung.” Kun rolls his eyes, yet he laughs anyway.

“I don’t see why not,” Kun replies, eyes trained on Doyoung. “I think Doyoung is too tall.”

“I completely agree,” Ten says. “We should do something about that, but what do we do?”

“I think we steal his kneecaps,” Kun suggests. “Or cut off his head.”

“You two are just jealous because you’re short,” Doyoung retorts.

“Okay, maybe you’re right, but that’s not the point,” Kun whines. He grabs a mouthful of jelly beans and shoves them all in his mouth at once, letting the flavors all mix for a second before swallowing.

“I don’t know how you can do that,” Ten says, completely in awe of Kun. “I always pick out the ones I like and leave the rest for someone else. Like Doyoung.”

“You take advantage of the fact that I like all the jelly beans,” Doyoung points out. “I’m being used for jelly bean disposal.”

“I would never do that to you, Doyoung,” Kun says. “I eat all of the jelly beans, so there’s no need to donate the icky ones to you.”

“Thank you, Kun,” Doyoung replies. “That is very much appreciated.” Ten leans back in his chair and makes a pouty noise before turning and facing away from Kun. Kun pokes Ten softly on his back and Ten ignores him.

“Ten,” Kun whispers. “Get back here or I’ll drink your beer.” Ten sits up immediately.

“You’re awful,” Ten whines. “Can’t a guy just be dramatic and angsty for five minutes around here?”

“No, not at all,” Doyoung deadpans. The three of them are all in better moods now and they drift off back into doing their own things, but the silence isn’t as painful as it was earlier.

Eventually, Ten drifts off back to sleep. Kun watches the road through the side window as his way of taking a screen break and he looks up and sees a million beautiful stars gazing down at him. Living in Los Angeles, sometimes Kun forgets that there’s a whole world above that he doesn’t get to see that often.

“You know,” Doyoung says suddenly. Kun’s eyes turn away from the stars and look over at Doyoung in the driver’s seat. “You’re really nice. And you care about people.”

“Oh,” Kun mumbles, looking down at his closed laptop, feeling himself grow a bit flustered, not really sure of how to reply because he’s not complimented that often, especially not unprompted. Kun has self confidence, but he built that up himself because if you don’t lift yourself up, who will? But he still gets stuck in old mindsets sometimes, so Doyoung’s compliment means a lot. “Thank you.”

“No really,” Doyoung continues. “I wish I could make people as happy as you do. I know I can come across the wrong way at first.” Kun is sent back to his first meeting with Doyoung, and while the memory is patchy, Kun certainly didn’t have a good first impression of Doyoung. Even though now, Doyoung is unintentionally becoming one of Kun’s closest friends. “But even still I’ve seen the way you like to raise up everyone around you, including Ten, even if you bicker a lot.”

“Don’t sell yourself so short,” Kun begins. He almost wants to finish his sentence with, ‘I don’t just kiss anyone,’ but then he remembers what Doyoung knows and how he might not believe that. “I really enjoy spending time with you.” Kun swallows down some unpleasant feelings and tries to focus on the matter at hand.

“Can I ask you your opinion on something?” Doyoung asks. “If you don’t want to answer that’s okay, but it’s just a hypothetical.” No one who says ‘hypothetically’ is ever talking just hypothetically. There’s always a little bit of truth in what they are saying.

“Ask away,” Kun says. He has to admit that he really wants to know what Doyoung wants to ask him. What secret is Kun being let in on?

“Is it wrong to like two people at once?” Doyoung asks, voice much sadder than it’s been all day. “Hypothetically, of course.” Kun doesn’t want to say that Doyoung already said hypothetically once before and that saying it more than once doesn’t hide your true question anymore.

“Right,” Kun replies slowly. “I don’t think it’s wrong. Love comes in so many shapes and sizes these days. It always has, but now it’s finally socially acceptable for the most part. And if you like two people, then that’s okay.” Doyoung doesn’t acknowledge that Kun called him out, just nods, a frown etched on his features and his bottom lip pulled between his teeth.

“Which two people?” Kun asks quietly. Him being quieter doesn’t seem to soften the blow for Doyoung like Kun had hoped. Doyoung doesn’t reply at first and Kun feels his heart rate pick up, which makes the moment feel so much tenser than it really is.

“Ah, it’s not important.” Doyoung admits defeat by backing down. His gaze turns distant instead of sad, but Kun can’t catch his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Neither of them feel the same way.”

Kun thinks he can see through Doyoung pretty well in this case, but he’s not one hundred percent sure, so he shys away from any sort of confession himself. Especially considering this trip exists in a bubble and either way the ending goes, Kun is never going to see Doyoung and Ten again. And he isn’t even sure if his feelings are towards both of them, only one or he’s just missed the sweet comfort of someone.

“You don’t really know that, though,” Kun points out. If he doesn’t even know his own feelings yet, Doyoung can’t decide that he does. “Have you made your intentions clear?”

“I don’t think so. Like, something will happen and then we won’t talk about it.” That has to be more in reference to Ten, but Kun knows he isn’t one hundred percent innocent in this case either. “I’ve just got strong feelings for them, and I don’t want to get my heart shattered, so I think I’m going to leave them alone.”

Kun frowns, but doesn’t push the issue any further. That leaves only Ten or Kun to make the move. If there even is a move to be made here.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Jungwoo opens up his eyes and finds himself on the floor of his bathroom. Why the hell is he on the floor? Jungwoo sits up and feels the blood start rushing back into half of his body. It takes a moment of staring at the wall, but yesterday eventually comes back to Jungwoo.

Well, that was a hot mess. Also explains why Jungwoo is laying on top of a towel and naked. Jungwoo stares into the full length mirror on the wall. The angle isn’t exact to him, but it catches his tattoo just right and he gazes at it for a moment, regret filling his chest before he shifts and can no longer see the mirror.

Jungwoo leaves the towel on the floor and gets up, stretching his muscles. He doesn’t know if Yukhei is even in the house and he honestly isn’t sure which answer would be better. If he’s not, then Jungwoo has some time to pull himself together.

If Yukhei is here and left Jungwoo on the tile of the bathroom, that would also hurt but in a completely different way. Jungwoo walks back into his room and gets dressed without looking into any mirrors or at anything which will remind him of a fond memory with Yukhei.

That basically means that Jungwoo is stuck staring at his feet while he dresses, but it’s better than looking up and seeing a picture of the two of them when they went camping in Sierra Nevada together.

Walking back into the kitchen, Jungwoo opens the fridge, hoping to find something to eat, but there’s nothing really left. That’s why they were eating take out, to procrastinate going to the grocery store.

Well, Yukhei most likely isn’t here and staying here is like sitting in a room full of upsetting explosives. So Jungwoo puts on his coat, grabs his keys and heads off to the grocery store as a form of distraction. He’s not a huge fan of grocery shopping but he could use some consolation ice cream. 

Jungwoo gets to the store fifteen minutes later without crying which is honestly a minor miracle. He came pretty close when the radio came on and it was a song that Yukhei would always sing along to when they would drive together, but Jungwoo flicked it off and that was that. 

The store is a dull off-white and cold which reflects how Jungwoo feels on the inside quite a bit. He grabs a basket and heads off to the frozen treats aisle. There are some memories of shopping with Yukhei and him always sneaking extra stuff into the cart that they definitely didn’t need. Jungwoo’s heart tightens for a moment.

“Excuse me?” Jungwoo snaps his head towards the voice and realizes that he’s been standing with the ice cream door open for several minutes at this point without even grabbing one. He lets go of the door and backs away sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, go ahead.” The stranger gives Jungwoo a second look and Jungwoo is worried that there’s something on his face left over from sleeping on the floor. “Is there something on my face?”

“No, you just look like you’re having a rough day— shit, that sounds mean. I was just wondering if there’s anything I can do to make it a little bit better?” That’s honestly so nice. It’s just the right thing at the wrong time as it’s also the final straw before Jungwoo starts to cry. “Shit.”

“It’s okay,” Jungwoo mumbles, wiping his eyes. “I’ve just had some sort of day from hell and I don’t have anyone to talk about it with.”

“So you came to the grocery store?” Jungwoo sniffles and looks over at the stranger with big glassy eyes. 

“I wanted to eat my feelings with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles.” The stranger breaks out into a smile.

“Yeah, you deserve ice cream after having a rough day. What about you let me pay for it and we can talk over some ice cream?” 

“I don’t even know your name,” Jungwoo points out. Letting a stranger buy things for him isn’t something that he’s usually okay with, but today is a day that he just doesn’t feel like arguing.

“I’m Yangyang.” Yangyang sticks out a hand which Jungwoo shakes. He has a firm grip and seems like a nice enough guy. And even if he’s secretly a serial killer, Jungwoo doesn’t even care. He’d take company and death over nothing at this point. 

“Jungwoo. It’s nice to meet you.” 

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

The long stretch of road before them along with the never ending fields surrounding the interstates and back roads in American made it really boring to continuously drive in the same direction. There’s no landmarks to look at, nothing worth looking at all except the gradual movement of the sun across the sky.

Doyoung is still driving with Ten having awakened from his nap around an hour ago and he’s still in the backseat with Kun. Kun had offered to take Doyoung’s place driving, but he turned him down, probably having something to do with their earlier conversation.

“You guys want to hear about this one time I encountered the living dead?” Ten asks suddenly, sitting up straight and raising a brow at Kun. “It’s an interesting story.”

“I don’t think you’re giving us a choice here,” Kun points out.

“No, I’m not, and this is one of the rare ones that Doyoung hasn’t heard yet,” Ten says. Doyoung doesn’t give any protest so Ten takes that as his opportunity to tell his story. “So I was at this graveyard, right?”

“Ten, we’re always at graveyards,” Kun cuts in. He really couldn’t resist himself. The temptation to make fun of Ten is so strong sometimes.

“But something interesting happened at this one specifically that makes it special,” Ten says, turning his body to face Kun directly. “Anyways, I was with this guy, Yukhei. He was a total newbie and went to open the casket while it was still in the ground, and I had to stand down there with the dead body and everything to open it and attach the ropes to pull it up.”

“Don't you have to do that every time we need a body that’s underground?” Doyoung asks and Ten tsks at him.

“Yes, but Yukhei was basically just my ride along, which I didn’t realize until I told my other apprentice that he wasn’t needed that night. And since I’m a nice guy, I didn’t call him back up again when I realized. Anyway, for the rest of the story, please pretend you’re both normal people who don’t work with graves and dead people on a regular basis,” Ten urged.

Kun and Doyoung make no promises, which is as good as Ten is going to get it. He sighs and jumps back into his story.

“So we were pulling the body out— with me doing most of the heavy lifting— and I started attaching the ropes to the corpse—”

“Really?” Kun asks, putting his hands up to his face to pretend to be shocked. “Why were you pulling a dead body out of the ground? That’s horrible!”

“I’m seriously going to strangle you,” Ten whined and Doyoung breaks out into laughter. That’s exactly Kun’s goal, try to get Doyoung back to normal a bit, at least for now.

“Fine,” Ten concedes. “Don’t act like a normal person, just shut up for a while, yeah?”

“Sorry,” Kun replies, grinning sheepishly. “Go on.”

“Okay.” Ten takes a deep breath before starting his story for a third time. “I was attaching the ropes and Yukhei was supposed to help pull it up since he’s much stronger than I was at the time.” Kun has to stifle his laughter at the phrase, ‘at the time.’ There’s no way that Ten is somehow crazy ripped now. “By the way, it is absolutely disgusting to grope a dead guy’s ass.”

“You groped a dead guy?” Doyoung’s voice is slightly shrill and Kun is speechless. “How did you manage that because I’ve removed plenty of dead people from graves with you and I’ve never done that ever.” There’s a small silence and then Kun is laughing out loud.

“This is absolute gold,” Kun says through his laughter.

“Oh my god,” Ten lets out, completely defeated. He didn’t even finish the poor story. “I give up with you two.”

“No, wait, I want to hear the rest of it now,” Kun admits. If the ending is even half as funny than the idea of Ten fondling a dead guy, Kun will be satisfied.

“Mhm, sure,” Ten replies, looking out the window and pouting. “You both are mean.”

“I’m sorry, Ten,” Kun says, dragging it out. He pats Ten’s thigh in consolation then leaves it there. Then Kun panics. Ten didn’t tense or react weird which is good, but now Kun is stuck with his hand on Ten’s thigh. If he removes it after like five seconds that’s weird, but if he waits a long time then it’s even weirder. But how long is too long for Ten?

“Anyways, emergency subject change,” Ten declares. “Maybe if one of you meet Yukhei some day, he can tell you the rest of it, but I don’t think he’ll want to.”

“What do we talk about instead then?” Kun asks. “Because it’s not like I can make endless commentary about wheat.”

“I think you should try,” Doyoung replies. “How long can you rant about wheat?”

“This is ridiculous,” Kun protests. He only said that as a joke and now Doyoung is taking him seriously.

“I agree,” Ten says. “I’ll forgive you for laughing at me after you make commentary about the wheat for as long as you can.”

“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” Kun mutters. He sits up and looks out the window to try and figure out what there is to say about wheat. “This isn’t even wheat. It’s cotton.”

“Great, so talk about cotton,” Ten replies. So much for that loophole.

“I don’t really like cotton that much. It’s a personal preference but when possible I don’t wear it, it also is so much work to pick rather than another material, which seems like mother nature's sign to stop picking it. Doesn’t cotton also have those little stabby things on it?”

“Little stabby things?” Doyoung reiterates and Kun sighs.

“Y’know, like those small prickler thingys that get stuck to you and your stuff.”

“Okay, carry on.” Kun glances out the window for some guidance from the cotton itself, but now they’re driving past potato farms.

“And now we are driving past potatoes, amazing,” Kun mumbles. “I heard a rumor that all you need to survive is potatoes which I hope is true because those fuckers are delicious. I would also like to bring up how french fries could have stopped any war the US has ever engaged in and the government just hasn’t been smart enough to use them. Also on the note of french fries, never buy a large curly fry from Arby’s because you’re being ripped off. The medium size is much more fry for your buck.”

“Are you saying that Arby’s is ripping everyone off when they buy large fries?” Ten asks, clearly trying to hold back his own laughter.

“Yes, in fact most of the time, you get more fries in the medium one. And before you laugh this is scientifically proven,” Kun defends. Kun is a sensible man, so he always buys medium size curly fries from Arby’s rather than the large. “Also the McDonald’s small fry is best there if you want more fries per dollar you spend. So until the day I die I will order two small fries rather than one medium or large.”

At this point both Doyoung and Ten are nearly crying with laughter. Go figure that the time that Kun isn’t even trying to be funny that he gets the most laughs from people. But whatever, the knowledge will hopefully stick with them and they should make better fry order choices in the future.

“Okay, I forgive you,” Ten says through his laughter. “That was arguably hilarious.”

“Thank you very much, now I’m opting for another conversation topic,” Kun whines. “That was the most embarrassing five minutes of my life.”

“Ten, you never told me about your initiation,” Doyoung says. “Why not recount that? It probably won’t be as funny as you groping a dead man.”

“That is being left in the past,” Ten warns. “But sure. I actually had a pretty easy initiation. Maybe it was because that year was just really good for the Rings, but who knows. They blindfolded me and brought me into a room with a bunch of corpses, then tried to get me to kiss one. They ultimately failed when I threatened to add their bodies to the pile.”

“That’s very Ten of you,” Doyoung replies.

“Yeah, they switched up their tune the next year though,” Ten begins, trying to remember the details. “That kid, Yukhei, he went on that one ride along with me, but I remember he never completed his initiation. Someone who he was close with died right before their initiation and I guess he decided he couldn’t stay cool under all the pressure.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Kun says. “How did he die?”

“He was shot.” Ten takes a deep breath and shows a flash of vulnerability that Kun hasn’t seen in a long, long time. “It was really really tragic. Yukhei’s friend did his initiation first, so when he did his first mission and then never came back… well, it was a shock to Yukhei’s system. I haven’t seen him for years, and I only found out about his friend after the fact, so I don’t even know the poor kid’s name.” 

Kun feels nauseous. He vaguely knew of Yukhei, but tended to keep his nose out of anything that he wasn’t directly involved in. It's something where Kun knows that it’s wrong to feel jealous of someone who’s suffered a great deal of pain, yet Kun can’t help but wonder what his life would have looked like if he had been in Yukhei’s shoes. What things he wouldn’t have to see or experience because of one really bad one. Though Kun isn’t even sure that one really bad event is nearly as bad as the years of shit he’s suffered through. 

“That’s awful, Ten,” Kun replies, voice tight. He didn’t realize just how much the effect would show through on this one. Kun keeps his eyes on his lap to avoid any unnecessary eye contact. 

“I feel so bad for Yukhei though,” Doyoung says. “I can’t imagine losing someone at all.” Kun’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t say anything. Wouldn’t his current relationship with Jungwoo count as losing someone? It’s not quite the same and there is technically a potential for a good outcome. Maybe Kun is just pessimistic. Or maybe he knows Mr. Suh well enough that he won’t let Jungwoo and Doyoung get a happy ending. 

“Loss is really hard on lots of people and everyone around them.” Ten crosses his legs and plays with one of his rings. Kun watches him carefully, under the guise of staring at his lap. “I wasn’t the closest with Yukhei, but him disappearing out of thin air was awful. He had so much potential and I was really fond of him. Arguably my favorite— sorry, Doyoung.” Ten is clearly trying to lighten the mood but the word  _ potential _ makes Kun’s skin crawl. It’s the same way he was described at the beginning but he wasn’t quite as heartless as Ten, so he didn’t move up the ranks as quickly. Which initially hadn’t been a problem, but then… 

“I will prove to you that I should be your favorite,” Doyoung retorts, sparing a quick glance in the rearview mirror to smile at Ten. 

“Oh, yeah? And just how are you going to do that?” Ten asks, clearly amused by Doyoung. Though Kun can’t help but feel like he’s intruding on a private moment. He’s not even doing anything but it feels quite flirty, a dramatic shift in tone to only seconds earlier, but it's for the best anyway. Lingering on sad things will do nothing but mess with their careful dynamic. When they pretend they are a trio of friends on a road trip then Kun can forget and let himself feel. 

“By being the best apprentice I can be.” Ten makes a cute cooing noise and Kun only feels even more like an outsider. They clearly share fundamentally different values if the two of them can still continue to do this sort of work with no qualms. Kun has had issues for years, this is just the first time he’s really stood up for himself to deal with them.

Doyoung and Ten continue to flirt and bicker without acknowledging Kun at all. It’s for the best, Kun thinks to himself. If he lets himself get attached anymore than he already is, he might actually stay here. Which would be a completely insane thing to do. That isn’t the proper word, but there isn’t one that quite gets across the sheer level of what a bad decision that would be. So having loose ties is better because they are easier to cut. 

Kun looks out the window and stares at the fields as they go by. He slowly starts to drown out the sounds of Ten and Doyoung talking, focusing on the hum of the car to kill the time. Fields are quite repetitive though, so Kun starts to feel himself drifting off to sleep within no time. 

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

The stopping of the car jolts Kun awake. There’s drool on his chin and there's a crick in his neck. It’s dark out and they’re in a parking lot of something. Kun rubs his eyes and straightens up. 

“Sleep well, sleeping beauty?” Ten asks, rubbing a hand on Kun’s thigh which is certainly one way to wake him up. 

“I’m still tired and sore, so no.” Kun replies. 

“That sucks, but we’re gonna get some dinner and then turn in for the night.” Ten seems to be in an especially good mood for some reason which Kun will chop up to something Doyoung said earlier. “Do you need me to carry anything in for you?” Now this is straight up weird. It isn’t as if Ten is a total asshole but volunteering for things isn’t exactly his favorite thing to do. Especially considering how he would act when Kun and him were working together before. 

“I’d appreciate it if you could carry my bag in,” Kun says warily, shoving aside any thoughts about the past. He’s hungry and frankly doesn’t care at the moment. He climbs out of the car and Ten follows behind him. Ten grabs both of their bags while Doyoung walks ahead with his own bag towards the front doors of the hotel. Doyoung clicks the locks and Kun lingers.

“Why are you still standing here?” Ten asks. He has both of their bags and still seems chipper. “You could have walked in with Doyoung.” 

“I’m curious as to why you are in such a good mood.” Kun cracks his neck and looks at Ten. “It’s just not like you and besides, I’m not in the mood to deal with Doyoung.” Kun doesn’t elaborate as Ten wouldn’t really get it either. Doyoung’s comments about still wanting to get further into the Rings really wormed their way under his skin. While Ten is very much still an active member, he can’t really leave so it’s for his own good that he’s happy. 

“Oh, no reason.” Kun frowns. He’s tempted to press the issue, but the walk to the hotel lobby is a lot shorter than he would have wanted. 

Doyoung flashes a room key at them once they are inside and Ten follows along behind Doyoung like a puppy. That’s also weird behavior. Kun doesn’t really have the brain capacity to figure this out on his own and as long as it doesn’t fuck up their mission, it should be okay. 

The three of them head up the elevator in silence but Ten is humming, so it’s not  _ really _ silent. Fuck, Kun is more crabby than he thought. Maybe he’ll feel better tomorrow. Or just after he gets some food in him. Yeah, that should make everything much better.

Doyoung unlocks their door and holds it open for Ten and Kun who both say thanks with different levels of sincerity. Kun immediately beelines for the bed and kicks off his shoes, claiming it as his. Ten sets their bags down and sits at the end of the bed, pulling out his phone while Doyoung picks up the phone.

“Do either of you know what you want to eat?” Doyoung asks. 

“I have no idea what they have here, so I’ll play it safe and ask for a BLT,” Ten decides, looking at Doyoung with a sappy look in his eyes. Dear god, why does this bother Kun so much? 

Okay, he has a hunch for the answer, but if he refuses to admit it to himself, then he can pretend that there isn’t a problem at all. He refocuses on dinner. What does he want to eat?

“I’ll have a grilled cheese,” Kun says. Ten got him thinking about sandwiches at the very least. Doyoung nods and calls in what they want while Kun keeps his eyes on Ten. He still has that same stupid smile on his face while looking at Doyoung. 

“Okay, they said it’ll take like twenty five minutes, so does anyone want to shower or get changed right now?” Doyoung asks. He doesn’t pay Ten any extra special attention, so Kun really has no clue as to what is going on. “I could use a shower at least.” Kun doesn’t feel especially gross, so he doesn’t protest.

“Go ahead, I’m going to put pajamas on though,” Kun mumbles, mostly to himself. Doyoung nods again before taking his things into the bathroom. 

Kun waits until he can hear the water before turning his attention to Ten. He swallows his fear and looks at Ten for a moment, half expecting him to feel Kun’s eyes on him and turn around without Kun even having to speak.

“Ten,” Kun says softly. Ten turns his head toward Kun, leaning back on his hands so they face each other easier.

“Kun.” 

“Seriously, what happened with you and Doyoung?” Kun asks. He doesn’t want anything to eat him during the next three weeks, so he should just rip off the band aid.

“Why does it matter so much to you?” Ten counters, tone light and teasing. “Are you jealous of the extra attention I’m giving him or something?” Jealous isn’t the word Kun would use per say. In fact, he would refuse to use that. Confused is more the word he would prefer.

“No, it’s just weird,” Kun deflects. Ten pulls himself all the way onto the bed, on his knees and looking directly at Kun who’s propped up against the pillows.

“Are you sure?” Ten moves closer so that he’s sitting next to Kun, hand resting on Kun’s upper thigh. He doesn’t move it any higher or lower, simply leaves it there. “Because I wouldn’t mind if you were. There is plenty of my attention to go around.” Ten’s mouth edges closer to Kun’s and Kun makes no move to push him away.

“I’m sure of that…” Kun trails off. His heart is racing, begging him to give in, but he doesn’t want to. He’s already kissed Ten once which should be enough. “It’s just not like you, so it makes things weird, dynamic wise.” 

“I’ll trade you what you want to know for a kiss,” Ten offers. Why Ten likes to make deals and bets involving kissing is something that Kun doesn’t understand, but this makes it so much easier to give in. 

“Alright, but only if you tell me first.”

“He said that even though his apprenticeship is nearly up, he wants to keep working with me.” That doesn’t surprise Kun all that much honestly. For all of Ten’s flaws, he’s a good partner. But Kun’s expression doesn’t say that. “You don’t seem pleased by that.” 

“That doesn’t matter.” Kun brushes off Ten’s comment. “You want your kiss after all, right?” Kun tries to lighten everything by shifting back to the kiss. “I’m happy to give you one. You earned it after all.” Ten’s mouth curls into a smile.

“Okay, I won’t push it.” Ten moves the hand on Kun’s thigh to the outside of his waist and Kun lets his hands come to cup Ten’s face. “You don’t realize how pretty you are.” Kun pulls Ten closer, not wanting to verbalize his want of Ten. Ten gently sets himself into Kun’s lap, keeping his hands near Kun’s waist. 

“You’re taking too long,” Kun mumbles, feeling his face grow hot. “Quit staring and come and kiss me.” 

“If you’re only going to let me kiss you when I have something you want or defeat you in a bet, I have to make it count, don’t I?” Ten’s words are suggestive of something further, a dangerous thought that Kun can’t bear to even properly consider. It’s one thing for him to want to kiss Ten as Ten is young, attractive, and knows Kun well enough to not push him so far as to make him uncomfortable. It’s a completely different thing when there is the suggestion of strings attached to their brief encounters. 

Ten lowers his mouth until it’s only an inch away from Kun’s. He hesitates for the briefest moment before connecting his lips with Kun’s. Kun really doesn’t mind kissing Ten. It’s so familiar despite them only kissing once before. There’s this knowledge of each other, before they were corrupted by the Scarlet Rings into something else. It’s a raw passion that Kun allows himself to give in to. 

Kun’s hands grab at Ten’s hips and slots them closer together. Ten lets out a low breath, pausing their kiss temporarily before diving back in, tasting every inch of Kun’s mouth. His hands come up to hold Kun’s shoulders, gentle in their caress of him. Kun kisses back with fervor, not happy with Ten’s slower, but no less want-filled pace. Ten lets out a small gasp against Kun’s lips and Kun takes advantage of the break in the kiss to nip along Ten’s jaw, moving his way back to suck the lobe of Ten’s ear into his mouth. 

“I thought you only agreed to one kiss,” Ten teases, voice high and breathy. 

“I did, but now I don’t want to stop.” That sums up quite a lot about Kun accidentally. He does one thing and then he can’t stop himself from falling in far too deep with things. 

“I have no issue with that.” Ten takes his turn biting along Kun’s jaw, but instead of going for his ear, he moves down Kun’s neck, kissing, sucking and biting as he sees fit. Kun full on moans when Ten hits a particularly sensitive spot, which merely eggs Ten on to suck down harder on the skin. 

“Ten—” Kun cuts himself off with a whine. “Doyoung is going to—” Another whine. “Come back.” 

“So let him join us,” Ten mumbles against Kun’s skin. Kun’s hips buck up causing Ten to coo. “I didn’t that would be the reaction that gave you, but I’ll take it.” That might simply break Kun if he let something like that happen, especially if he imagines Doyoung’s large hands and his hair right after a shower…

“I can’t.” Ten gives a final kiss to Kun’s neck and pulls away. 

“I assume you won’t tell me why.”

“I really can’t.” Kun’s voice breaks on the last syllable and he holds eye contact with Ten. “Trust me.” Ten leans in and gives Kun one last kiss before pulling away.

“I trust you.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════ 

Jungwoo adjusts to Yangyang quite easily. They eat ice cream together in Yangyang’s apartment. The space is so much warmer than Jungwoo’s apartment right now, so he accepts it as somewhere comforting. And to top everything off, Yangyang asked for Jungwoo to pick his favorite movie rather than just picking one.

“In Bruges is your favorite movie?” Yangyang sounds surprised, but not judgmental.

“Yeah,” Jungwoo replies, fiddling with his fingers from his spot on the couch. Yangyang is curled up next to him but they aren’t touching. 

“I watched it a few years ago and I remember thinking it was really good, so I’m excited to rewatch it.” Jungwoo breaths a small sigh of relief, he’s really far too anxious for this. Yangyang’s presence is comforting, but Jungwoo doesn’t want to mess things up with him right out of the gate. 

“I’m glad.”

“You seem nervous,” Yangyang comments. He has the movie screen all pulled up and all he has to do is hit play. The cold bowl of ice cream burns in Jungwoo’s hands. “You can relax, really.” Yangyang puts a hand on Jungwoo’s shoulder and he allows himself to relax into the touch.

“I don’t want to fuck things up,” Jungwoo admits. 

“You’re not going to fuck things up because I don’t care if you make mistakes or have made mistakes.” Jungwoo swallows and looks at Yangyang. “It’s part of being a person and if people can’t accept that, then they aren’t worth having around.” Jungwoo doesn’t think Yangyang would feel that way if he knew the full context of why Jungwoo is in an awful mood, but he needs the comfort right now more than anything. 

“I needed to hear that.” 

“It’s okay.” Yangyang ruffles Jungwoo’s hair. “Come on, let’s watch the movie. Ice cream and movies can solve the world’s problems if you let them.” Jungwoo cracks a smile at that.

“Thank you.” 

“Since we haven’t started yet, do you want popcorn too? Because I kind of want popcorn.” 

“Popcorn sounds great.” 

“Okay, then I shall be right back.” Yangyang pops off the couch and dances his way into the kitchen. Jungwoo can’t help but stare after him wistfully.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

They all wake up early the next morning to start their drive to Minneapolis. It’s a nineteen hour drive and none of them want to spend another night in a hotel to get there. By tomorrow they will be in Minneapolis to meet up with Jisung and Kun isn’t exactly excited. He’s having all sorts of messy feelings right now and wishes that he could curl up with some ice cream and talk to a friend about how he’s feeling. But he can’t do any of that since he’s trapped in the front seat of a car before the sun has even fully risen and doesn't have any friends.

Fuck, today is not a good day. The only positive is that Doyoung hasn’t caught on to what happened between Kun and Ten last night. There weren’t any strong enough marks that wouldn’t fade within a few hours which is honestly for the best. Kun has been down this road before and while things aren’t the exact same, he’s worried that the rug is about to be pulled out from underneath him. 

Ten is sitting behind the wheel and humming, not paying Kun any special attention. Doyoung went right back to sleep in the back and Kun crosses and uncrosses his legs, feeling uncomfortable. Kun doesn’t want any attention from Ten, but it still feels weird that he isn’t acting differently. 

Once Mr. Suh got what he wanted from Kun everything changed. 

And that’s far enough down that road for now. Kun chuckles to himself, ignoring the pain in his chest. He slips his hands under his thighs and looks out the window. Life sucks. Genuinely, things are pretty awful for Kun. There is that light at the end of the tunnel, but he’s not inclined to think that things are going to go smoothly. 

Mr. Suh claims that it’s really all in Ten’s hands, and Kun has a feeling that Ten might have softened a bit over the years or at least softened with the presence of Doyoung. He’s not as hardcore anymore, Kun thinks. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that Kun was easily intimidated and didn’t know how to stand up for himself. Not that he really can stand up for himself now when it really counts... 

Kun should try to sleep. This train of thought isn’t getting him anywhere. Thinking about things that he has no control over is pointless. The sounds of Ten humming and tapping on the steering wheel help coax Kun into sleeping for a few hours.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

The sun shining in through the windshield is what wakes Kun. Ten and Doyoung are both missing and the car is in park, getting hotter by the minute. Kun frowns and sits up, trying to figure out where he is. He’s in some sort of gas station and with a turn of his head, he sees that there’s a deli behind him. That must be where Ten and Doyoung are since it's just past one. 

So that means that they are five out of nineteen hours into this trip. Ugh, fourteen more hours in this car sounds like hell, but it’s not like Kun has another option. In fourteen hours it will be three am, assuming that they don’t stop driving for dinner too. In all likelihood, they’re gonna reach Minneapolis around five am. Kun groans and leans his head back against the headrest. Fingers crossed one of them at least thought to grab Kun something to eat. 

Kun rubs his eyes and flips down the sun visor and slides open the mirror. Yeah, he looks like hell. There’s bags under his eyes, his hair is flat and lifeless, his skin is sallow, and his lips are chapped. Why on Earth would Ten come on to him when he looks like this? Words ring in Kun’s mind that he wishes he could forget, but he can’t. He has to trudge on through this hellish month and then it’ll all be over.

Staring into his own eyes, Kun takes a deep breath and swallows his feelings. He can stay strong. Today is the eleventh already, so he’s about a third of the way through this. He closes the mirror and flips the sun visor up, ready to go and check on Doyoung and Ten, but the doors click and they appear.

“Oh, hi, Kun,” Doyoung says, looking surprised as he climbs into the backseat. “If we’d had known you were awake, we would have asked what you wanted.”

“I can get something myself,” Kun replies, trying to be assertive. 

“We picked plain things so you could get first pick,” Ten interjects. “I remember that you don’t like pickles so none of them have those at least.” Ten looks sheepish which Kun doesn’t linger on. 

“I’m pretty flexible,” Kun brushes off. It was genuinely thoughtful to base their choices around him and Kun is feeling quite touched. At least, as touched over a sandwich he can be. 

Kun ends up with a BLT which is perfectly fine by him, but they don’t start driving immediately. Ten probably should switch considering it’ll be a few hours before their next pitstop and Kun wouldn’t mind to drive for a bit.

“Ten, do you want to switch?” Kun asks after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. Ten might be stubborn again, but maybe with the new way he’s acting, he’ll let other people drive more willingly. “I just slept for a bit, so I’m feeling pretty well rested.” Ten chews on his lip for a moment, weighing the decision over in his head.

“Yeah, we can switch.” Ten turns back to face Doyoung and Kun follows his eyes. “Doyoung, can I stretch out in the back?”

“Sure,” Doyoung chirps.

They rearrange and Kun is behind the wheel again. He adjusts the chair to better fit his height and starts to eat his sandwich. None of them say anything for a bit, all occupied with their food, but Doyoung hums every now and then, clearly enjoying his sandwich quite a bit. Kun eats quickly, knowing that the sooner he finishes, the sooner they’ll reach Minneapolis. 

“Enjoying your lunch, Kun?” Ten asks. Kun glances back to see Ten all stretched out across the backseats, lazily munching on some chips. 

“Yeah, this is good.” Without realizing it, Kun’s eyes glance to the hem of Ten’s shirt. It’s risen up with the angle that Ten’s laying and Kun can’t help but think about pressing his lips all over the exposed skin. His memory pops back to last night and Ten’s mention of Doyoung which reminds Kun of exactly where he is. Kun turns back to the front, but he can feel Ten’s eyes on the back of his head. Yeah, he certainly saw that.

“What about you, Doyoung?”

“This is the best sandwich I’ve had in so long.” Doyoung makes an appreciative sound and leans his head back against the headrest. Kun really needs to get his mind out of the gutter.

“I’m gonna start driving, so make sure your seatbelt is on--” Kun starts the car and glances again at Ten. “Though Ten you might not even try because I have no idea how you would even get one on. Seriously, how did you even end up like that?” 

“I’m just flexible.” Ten shrugs and puts another chip in his mouth. “Doyoung can attest to that.”

“Yeah, it’s true,” Doyoung admits. Kun pulls out of the parking lot. He has a vague idea of where he’s going and Doyoung can pull up the route once he’s on the freeway. “Ten bet me that he could put his foot over his head and I made the mistake again of agreeing to it.” Ten laughs.

“Never bet if you’re not willing to risk losing.” Doyoung scoffs. “Or if you know for a fact you’ll win.” 

“You always look so smug,” Doyoung complains. “Someone needs to take you down a peg or two.” 

“And how would you manage that?” Ten counters.

“Me or Kun would upstage you.” 

“Do not drag me into this,” Kun warns. “I have no desire to upstage Ten, despite how funny it would be.”

“No, I think we should bet on it.” Kun groans. This is going to end with him making out with Ten again, isn’t it? “I can’t  _ know _ for certain if I’ll be a winner. I just have a hunch.” 

“So me or Kun has to upstage you in some way?” Doyoung clarifies. Ten hums. “Any time limit on it? And what happens if we don’t?”

“Yeah, make me look like a fool before the end of this job. If you guys win, you can decide whatever you want individually. If I win you already know what I want,” Ten says, sounding smug. Kun’s cheeks flare a bit, but he bites his lip and keeps his focus on the road in front of him. He gets on the freeway without any issues. “Speaking of, Kun you still owe me a video.” 

“Fuck, I forgot about that,” Kun mutters. “Great, well that’s what I want if I win the bet. I don’t want you to have a video of me complimenting you.” That at least gives Kun some motivation to win this bet. “Anyway, Doyoung can you turn on the GPS for wherever we’re going?”

“Sure thing.” Doyoung pulls out his phone and the familiar sound of Siri’s voice tells Kun stay on the freeway for over a hundred miles. “Sounds exciting.” Doyoung chuckles and Kun sighs. Driving gets repetitive, but that’s fine with him. He can’t think about his current possible feelings if he’s focused on not slamming into the person who just cut in front of him for no reason.

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun drives for nearly six hours without stopping. His mind is completely empty, his only thoughts of the road while Ten and Doyoung quietly look at their phones. The car in front of them slams on their breaks so Kun does the same, earning a yelp from Ten.

“You alright back there?” Kun asks. 

“I will live, but I nearly fell off my seat,” Ten whines.

“That’s why seatbelts are a thing,” Doyoung chimes in. “You could have sat like a normal person, but no.” 

“Doyoung, I will flick your forehead right now.” 

“No you will not,” Kun says. “Flick him when we are out of the car.”

“Fine.” Doyoung turns around and sticks his tongue out at Ten and Kun rolls his eyes. “Off topic-- Kun are you getting tired of driving?”

“Oh no you don’t,” Doyoung interjects.

“Kun, answer the question.” A yawn finds its way out of Kun’s mouth before he can speak which in a way is an answer for him.

“Just a bit.” Doyoung groans and slumps down in his chair. “And I’m a bit hungry to be honest.”

“Okay, lets get dinner and then I can drive again,” Ten says. 

“Sounds good. Will one of you look up places to go?”

“Yeah, can do.” 

They decide to go to In-N-Out despite the fact that it will have the longest line imaginable. Ten really wants them to rotate before ordering, probably so he can flick Doyoung. Which is why Doyoung says the exact opposite. Kun ends up just pulling into the line of twenty cars without giving them an opportunity to get out.

“You’re no fun.” Ten pouts. “I am going to need to stretch my legs sometime soon.”

“After we get our food we are going to park and then stretch because we have another what? Eight hours on the road?” That sounds about right. The fact that they’ll have to drive essentially all day is ridiculous, but Kun would much rather stay on schedule than behind.

“Perfect.”

“Ten is going to kill me,” Doyoung states. “This is my final meal.” Kun laughs. Ten makes grabby hands for Doyoung from the back who pulls as far away from him as possible. “I’ll bite you.” That doesn’t deter Ten at all. “Okay, I should have known you’d enjoy something like that.” Kun laughs harder while not interfering in Doyoung’s peril. 

“Doyoung,” Ten whines. “Come here.”

“Absolutely not.” 

“Please. Pretty please.” 

“I will cut holes in all your shirts.” That makes Ten retract his hands and sit up properly, causing Kun to start laughing again, having only just gotten a hold of himself. 

“Do not.” 

A knock on the window causes them all to turn their heads. It’s the person who’s come to ask for their order. Drive-thrus as a concept are quite American to begin with, but having people walk from car to car to place orders because there are so many cars in line is somehow extra American.

The three of them order and the person walks away. Kun taps his fingers along the steering wheel as they very slowly move along in line. Ten and Doyoung keep bickering throughout the wait and continuously drag Kun into it. But finally, finally-- they get to the front and get their food which gets the bickering to end for a few sweet minutes.

But once Kun parks the car, Doyoung is eying Ten suspiciously before jumping out of the car and practically running toward the building. Ten is out the door right after him and tackles Doyoung onto the grass. Kun can’t help his curiosity, so he turns the car off and follows after them. When he catches up to them, Ten has Doyoung pinned onto the grass and is trying to get one of his hands close enough to Doyoung’s forehead to flick him.

“This is some of the most ridiculous bs I’ve ever seen,” Kun comments, standing to the side of them. “Doyoung, if you let Ten get it over with then it’ll be over.”

“I refuse to concede!” Doyoung exclaims. His hand is gripping Ten’s wrist, only a few inches from his face.

“Ten, what if you let go of Doyoung?” Kun tries.

“I can’t give up now-- that would make me look bad.” 

“It’s literally just the two of us and I already think you’re ridiculous for doing this in the first place.” Kun crosses his arms. “In fact, you’re just going to look more ridiculous by flicking him.”

“Exactly! Listen to Kun,” Doyoung says, his grip on Ten’s wrist faltering. Ten gets his hand free enough to land a strong flick on Doyoung’s forehead, leaving behind a bright red mark and causing Doyoung to cry out. Kun flinches, but doesn’t do anything. Doyoung knocks Ten off him and stands up, heading inside but not before flicking Ten the bird.

Ten stands and brushes off his pants, looking proud. With a glance to Kun, he says, “It was worth it.” Kun snorts and starts to walk back to the car. Ten trails behind him and climbs in the front seat while Kun sits in the passenger seat.

“You are out of your mind,” Kun mumbles, grabbing his food and shoving a handful of fries in his mouth. He’s hungry and once again in awe of how he ended up in such a situation. 

“Not what you said last night.” It doesn’t even really make sense but Kun still stiffens and chews on his fries, not liking Ten’s tone one bit. He swallows both the fries and his fear, but doesn’t make eye contact with Ten.

“I don’t appreciate you speaking about me like that,” Kun says softly. “I’m much more than that and you should know that.” The words feel sort of like lead in his mouth and Kun slouches against the chair back, munching on a few more fries so he doesn’t say anything else.

Ten is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry.” It’s the first time Ten has ever genuinely apologize for anything before. “I didn’t realize that would hit a nerve with you.”

“Thank you.” They eat quietly for a few minutes after that, and it begins to rain. Only small droplets at first but it quickly turns into balls of ice. Kun vaguely wonders what’s taking Doyoung so long, though most of his thoughts are elsewhere.

It rained the first time. 

The sounds of water pounding against the office windows, but the inside had been so warm. Something so scandalous, but Kun hadn’t cared. Hadn’t thought a thing of it. 

His inner thigh trembles in memory. A hand here, a pair of lips there.

It’s been a long time since Kun’s thought of that day. He was so naive to think that it would work. That nothing but disaster would face him in the future. 

“Kun?” Ten’s voice feels fuzzy, but then there’s a hand on his thigh and Kun revolts, yanking his body away from Ten who backs off immediately. To top it off, the side door opens and Doyoung climbs in, already talking far too fast for Kun to keep up. Kun isn’t crying, but he’s shaking and Doyoung takes notice, not bothering to finish whatever he was saying.

“Kun, are you okay?” Doyoung asks. He still feels underwater and Kun squeezes his eyes shut. Ten and Doyoung probably already know. There’s no way that they don’t know. That was made more than clear to Kun. He hiccups, unsure of where to go from here while the hail continues to pound on the car.

“Kun, we need to know how to help you,” Ten says. 

“You can’t.” The words bubble up and they fall out of Kun’s lips like vomit. He couldn’t hold them back and now he has to deal with the consequences of saying them.

“I’m sure there is something we can do,” Doyoung mumbles, his hand coming to rest on the back of Kun’s chair. “You don’t need to tell us what’s causing this, just how to make you feel better.” Kun mules over Doyoung’s words. He feels himself already starting to surface, Doyoung’s voice becoming much clearer. Part of him simply wants to be held, but another wants to curl into a ball by himself. He isn’t sure which one he wants more. 

“I’m not a slut,” Kun says.

“Who said that you’re a slut?” Ten asks. “Because I don’t think that and I’m sure Doyoung doesn’t think that.” Doyoung nods in agreement. 

“Yeah, you’re really special and no matter what anyone says, me and Ten think you’re really cool.” Doyoung smiles and Kun hiccups again, finally turning to look at them. Ten looks like he’s about to cry which is kind of funny since Kun doesn’t feel any urge to still cry.

“Ten, why do you look like you’re about to cry?” Kun asks.

“Was it what I said?”

“No. It was the rain.” That doesn’t really reveal anything too personal, and it will put Ten’s mind at ease. Kun edges his fingers from his lap to the edge of the chair, eyes on Ten’s hand. “I’ll be okay.” 

“We know you will, but we want to help you,” Doyoung says, and Kun tilts his head up toward Doyoung. “What do you need?”

“I think I just need to be held,” Kun mumbles. “But not too much.” He turns his palm up and rests it on the center console. Ten hesitantly lets his fingers interlace with Kun’s without a word. Kun uses his right hand to eat another french fry. “Doyoung quit staring at me.” Doyoung looks away and Kun laughs.

“Not to be annoying, but Ten can you start the car?” Doyoung asks. “The hail soaked me.” 

“Yeah.” Ten sniffs and reaches around the steering wheel to start the car. “Kun, do you have the keys?”

“Ten, are you crying?” Kun counters. He sticks his hand in his pocket and hands Ten the keys, not letting go of his hand. 

“Maybe.” Ten sticks the keys in the ignition and Kun looks over at him. His eyes are downcast, but Kun can still tell that he’s crying. Doyoung leans forward and coaxes Ten to look at him.

“Why are you crying?” Doyoung asks, thumbing at the tears on Ten’s cheeks.

“I don’t like seeing Kun unhappy.” Kun’s breath hitches at that. 

“It’s really okay, Ten,” Kun reassures, squeezing Ten’s hand. “We really should eat before our food gets cold though. Like this is getting a bit depressing.” 

“Yeah, we can lighten the mood.” Ten flicks on the radio softly and turns up the heat. He sucks in a deep breath before turning to Kun, eyes dry now. There’s still hail pounding away at the car, but Kun pushes that out of mind and focuses on eating, thankful for Ten and Doyoung. 

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

Kun isn’t sure when he falls asleep, but he knows that he wakes up right as Ten drives past the ‘Welcome to Clearwater’ sign. He’s tempted to close his eyes again, but Ten takes the next exit and veers off into the forest, so Kun sits up, rubs at his eyes before glancing at Ten.

“Why are we driving into the woods?” Kun asks. He looks toward the back and sees Doyoung with his face plastered against one of the back windows. 

“This is where Youngjae wanted to meet us for some reason,” Ten says with a yawn. “Good too because I don’t think I could have driven another hour to Minneapolis proper.” 

“And why does he want to meet in the woods?”

“He texted saying that he has a body for us to deliver. No grave robbing for us this time.” 

“Great because I am not in the mood to look at dead people.”

“Don’t get too excited. Youngjae said that there’s a reason he’s not making us get it.” Kun groans. “Yeah, I know.”

“This sounds suspicious.” 

“Very, but what do you expect in this line of work? Normal for us is still digging up the dead.” Kun snorts and leans against his window, watching as the trees go by.

“You raise a fair point…” Kun sees nothing in the distance except for more of this same dirt road. “Just how deep in the woods is this place?”

“Pretty deep because I’m already losing coverage, but Jisung said that we’re basically driving until there is no more road, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Ten sounds confident, and Kun is too tired to really be afraid. It’s not even five am. 

“Great. Do you think we should wake up Doyoung sooner or later? Since I don’t want him to be jolted awake then having to help carry a dead person because that just  _ sounds _ like a recipe for disaster.” 

“Yeah, you have a point. Give him a nudge and see what happens.” Kun does like Ten says and nudges Doyoung’s knee and he whines, high pitches and curls farther in on himself. Another nudge and Doyoung whines again.

“Doyoung, you gotta wake up soon.” Doyoung blinks open his eyes and looks at Kun. 

“Do I really though?” Doyoung asks.

“Yeah because we have to carry a dead person.”

“Oh, fun.” Doyoung sits up and Kun can hear the audible crack of his neck. “I feel like I could sleep for another four days.”

“You sound so old,” Ten says and Doyoung sticks out his tongue. It’s far too early for any sort of shenanigans. “But anyway, look up ahead.” Kun turns back toward the front and gaps. There’s a military scale bunker in the middle of the woods. It blends in with the trees nearby, but the now-rising sun shines a light on the metal surface.

“Wow,” Kun mumbles. “That’s quite impressive.” 

“You could say that again.” 

Ten parks the car in front of Jisung’s bunker and the three of them all climb out. Doyoung and Kun really look like they’ve been sleeping while Ten looks like he’s in dire need of coffee. On the right side of the bunker, there’s a metal door which heads directly into the ground. Kun’s curiosity is piqued by it, but at the same time he hopes that he doesn’t have to go in there. 

“I gave Jisung our ETA and he said that he would be outside, so I don’t know where he is,” Ten says, looking around. Besides the large metal bunker, everything looks completely untouched by humanity. Someone could have told Kun that this whole place was abandoned and he would believe them. 

“I’m right here.” The three of them jump and spin around to see a bright eyed person with light brown hair and full lips. That must be Jisung. He looks like he’s barely out of high school,1 which makes Kun all the more surprised that he’s the one running this. “I really would have thought that you all would have noticed me sooner, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your senses aren’t at tip top because of the early hour.”

“Yeah,” Ten drawls, still seemingly on edge. 

“Anyways,” Jisung chirps. “I can’t have you drag a body, bagged or otherwise, through the building because my cleaning staff already complain about blood stains all the time and I told them I would cut down.” Jisung says this all with ease, basically smiling with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He doesn't even look like a criminal. He looks like… like a regular teenager. Though hiding in plain sight is smart, it’s still quite jarring. 

“So we have to go in there I assume,” Kun says, pointing over his shoulder at the metal doors into the Earth. 

“Bingo.” Jisung gives finger guns which no one returns, but he doesn’t seem to care. “Just follow me.” Kun nods along and follows behind Jisung, still not quite awake enough for this yet. Jisung bends down and pulls open the doors with ease, even though they must easily weigh forty pounds each by the sheer thickness. They make a loud noise when they hit the ground which makes Doyoung stand up straighter. 

Jisung starts to walk down the stairs into the dark depths below without any flashlight. He must be familiar enough with them to not need them, but Kun is still inclined to stand closer to Doyoung as he follows.

Not seeing anything is quite okay with Kun as once his eyes adjust, he sees clusters of spiderwebs and several suspicious stains. The cleaning crew must not ever clean this place… Kun’s seen enough gore in his life to no longer get nauseous at the sight of it, but he can’t help and feel a little uncomfortable with it the further they walk down the stairs. 

Ten is ahead of Doyoung and Kun, so Kun has no idea how he’s faring with any of this. Likely better than Doyoung, who is clinging back onto Kun for more than just stair support. Kun bites his lip, waiting for the end to finally come. The farther they walk, the stronger the smell of mold and blood becomes.

They finally reach the bottom and enter a small concrete room. There’s lines along the walls like someone tried to claw their way out and several sets of shackles, all of which Jisung doesn’t bat an eye at. He stops in the center of the room next to a large, black trash bag. It’s the industrial kind which doesn’t do much to quell Kun’s fears of getting human remains on his clothing. At the very least, these clothes are already dirty since none of them had the time to change. 

“Here’s the body,” Jisung says. His voice echoes throughout the space. “Just don’t take too long with it. Minseok always gets a little impatient.”

Ten is the first one to move toward the bag, and Kun is the last. How he’s managed to do this job for so long amazes him each and every single day. Jisung only watches them and Kun can’t help but feel like he’s being tested.

“I’m going to lift from this side and then Kun you lift from the opposite side and Doyoung can help support from the bottom.” Kun nods and goes to put his hands on the bag. He feels a leg and sighs. This is fine. This is all  _ fine. _

Ten does the same and on three they lift the bag. And Jesus Christ this body is heavy. Well over two hundred pounds, which is why when Doyoung’s arms come underneath, Kun lets out a sigh of relief. With the three of them they can get the body to the stairs. Jisung lets them go up the stairs and doesn’t follow them. 

“Are we going to talk about the fact that this isn’t a body anymore?” Doyoung hisses.

“Ten, do you mean you haven’t had Doyoung deal with cannibals before?” Kun asks. It isn’t something he likes to do, or even has to do that often, but at least he’s not completely surprised by this turn of events. 

“Cannibals?” Doyoung screeches. “What do you mean--”

“Doyoung, lower your voice,” Ten murmurs. “Jisung gives me weird vibes and always has. He’s been running this branch for years, since he was sixteen, so I would be careful not to offend him.”

“How will the concept of cannibals…” Doyoung trails off and Kun feels his stomach turn.

“Gross,” Kun mutters. They lug the body up the rest of the stairs and the scent of rotting flesh is really starting to get to Kun, but the end is in sight so it’ll be okay.

“Why does this one smell worse than all the other ones?” Doyoung asks, and Ten spares a glance at Kun who shakes his head. Doyoung really doesn’t want to know the answer to that question. “Why?”

“Because the body parts have been rotting for a varied amount of time,” Ten replies. “ I can tell that one of the body’s legs was removed before the actual time of death.” Doyoung doesn’t answer.

“Like I said; gross.” 

They step out into the now bright wood and get the body all the way to the car before they have to fumble around to get the back of the car opened. Their suitcases are all in the back, but there’s no way that any of them are sitting next to some sloppy remains. 

“Okay I’m going to move our bags,” Ten says and he lets go of the bag, causing Kun to groan with all the new weight. Doyoung nearly stumbles and Kun shoots him a death glare from the other side of the bag. 

“Ten, hurry up please,” Kun groans. There’s a reason he normally does tech stuff and doesn’t do heavy lifting unless he really has to. Bags and suitcases clatter onto the damp grass underfoot while Kun’s arms threaten to give out on him. 

“Okay, done!” Kun and Doyoung slide the bag into the trunk and Kun sighs, shaking out his arms once it’s away. “Now what are we doing with the bags?”

“I don’t want to risk that shit spilling so put them all across the far back I guess,” Kun says. He picks up his things and opens the side door, stacking them all in the back. Doyoung and Ten follow suit, but there’s enough stuff to where one of the bags has to be placed in the center seats.

“How are we sitting?” Doyoung asks. “Ten can’t drive any longer, so he’s in the back.” 

“I want to be shotgun,” Ten interjects. 

“You’re going to make me sit closer to the bag of guts I see,” Kun replies. “Lucky for you that you didn’t sleep so I will be taking pity on you. Doyoung, you’re driving.” 

Everyone reassembles back in the car and Kun can still smell the dead person. Amazing. He puts on his seatbelt and lets Doyoung start the car before saying anything.

“Can we drive with the windows down because I would like to not smell like I rolled around in a carcass when we get out of the car,” Kun requests. Doyoung laughs but he rolls down all the windows. “Also, Ten, I know you’re gonna wanna sleep but can you look up where we are going? You had the case file last.” 

“Sure thing.” Ten digs around in the front seat and pulls out a manila envelope and thumbs through the pages in it. “Oh, this place is nearby. Doyoung, get back on the main road and then I’ll direct you.” Ten grabs his phone to assist with directions and Kun lets his mind wander. It’s bright outside even though it can’t be any later than half past five. This trip has fucked all of their sleep schedules as Kun is actually feeling quite well rested but Ten is about to conk out after this.

Eventually they reach the main road and Kun is struck by the completely different vibes to the real world and Jisung’s lair. There’s something much less suspicious about the main road, which might have something to do with the fact that they drove along this in the middle of the night. Darkness makes everything scarier after all. 

“Okay so now in like, four miles, you’re going to make a right turn,” Ten says. “But it’s gonna be a dirt road, so be extra aware.”

“Got it,” Doyoung replies.

They reach the dirt road in the blink of an eye and only have to drive a short ways before Doyoung parks the car in a small clearing. Kun feels adrenaline start pumping through him again, slightly nervous for a cannibal encounter. Normally, he stays in the car for such things, not really needed.

Someone appears out of the ring of trees and steps into the clearing. Nothing about him screams cannibal at first glance, but Kun still doesn’t fully relax. He steps closer and his eyes are already on Kun, a quick lick of his lips before looking at Ten and Doyoung. Kun feels a shiver run down his spine, already uncomfortable. But it’s fine. Everything is fine. Doyoung and Ten are right there.

“I’m assuming you must be Minseok,” Ten says. Kun notices a difference in his behavior right off the back. He’s much more like his old self that Kun used to know.

“That would be correct.”

“I’m assuming you have the money?” Ten shifts his weight to his right leg and juts out his chin.

“Yeah, give me a second,” Minseok says. He sticks his hand straight into his pants and pulls out a few crumpled hundred dollar bills. He stuffs them into Ten’s hand while Doyoung cringes, clearly glad that he isn’t the one who has to touch the money.

“Great,” Ten replies, closing his fist around the money.

“Thanks for dinner.” Minseok laughs. He prods at the bag. “Jisung is too good to me, he gave me two people this time.” Kun feels all the blood drain from his face. He’s done this before but he’s never met a cannibal who’s so damn cheery. “You know…” Minseok’s fall on Kun and Kun braces himself. He doesn’t know what for, but he assumes whatever Minseok is about to say is going to be bad. “I’ll give you an extra hundred bucks if you let me lick the cute one.” 

“Absolutely not,” Ten exclaims. “I can’t let a cannibal lick me.” Kun has so many different comments on the tip of his tongue, but he holds back. “That will compromise my grave robber integrity.” Kun blinks. He has no words.

Minseok glares at Ten, looking displeased. “Not you.” Ten looks relieved, but then it hits him.

“If I’m not the cute one then who am I?” Ten asks. Please Ten, it  _ does not _ matter what a cannibal in Minnesota thinks. 

“The stupid one.” Kun really shouldn’t laugh at that, but he can’t help it. This is one of the most absurd situations he’s ever found himself in. Ten seems mildly offended that a cannibal doesn’t want to lick him. “So?” Minseok’s attention is back on Kun.

Kun thinks it over for a moment. One hundred dollars could buy some lovely alcohol and it’s not like anything crazy will happen. Minseok looks kind of twiggy at best. Granted, so is Doyoung, but whatever.

“Sure.” Kun swears he hears Ten’s jaw hit the ground. Minseok comes up to Kun, and despite not being that tall, his presence feels overwhelming. His arms wrap around Kun’s shoulders and he leans in. Kun notices that he smells like lavender which is so jarring he almost doesn’t notice when Minseok’s tongue reaches his neck. Almost. But Minseok trails his tongue up to Kun’s cheek before pulling away and licking his lips. He hands Ten another hundred dollars as promised and walks back to the bag of remains. 

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Ten mumbles.

“Me neither,” Doyoung adds on.

“I’m surprised as well,” Kun agrees, using his sleeve to wipe his cheek. “But anyways, I win the bet.” Ten’s reaction is absolutely priceless and Kun wishes he had a camera to memorialize this forever. Then he remembers his cell phone and within four seconds he snaps a picture of Ten’s expression which makes Doyoung laugh.

Minseok picks up the bag of the guts easily and heads off into the woods while they climb back into the car. They can adjust the suitcases later. Kun sits down in the back and closes his eyes.

“Seriously, why did I just do that?” Kun asks. It’s a rhetorical question, but maybe an answer would be nice. 

“Kun, I’m sure it’s fine,” Doyoung reassures. “He just lives in the woods, y’know. And now we have extra money.” Kun opens his eyes to look at Doyoung.

_ “I _ have extra money,” Kun corrects.  _ “You _ weren’t licked by a cannibal.” 

“I would have let him,” Doyoung defends. “He just chose you.” Kun can’t believe what he’s hearing. What is it with this Minseok guy that is making Doyoung and Ten so…  _ jealous _ ? Did they forget the fact that he literally eats people?

“I can’t believe he called me the stupid one,” Ten mutters. R.I.P. Ten and his fragile ego. 

“This is ridiculous,” Kun points out. “He’s a cannibal and you two feel bad for not being wanted by him. Ten, you literally have a harem-- people think you’re hot, don’t worry. And Doyoung I’m sure you have pull with the ladies or whoever.”

“Thanks,” Doyoung mumbles, face pink and not making eye contact with Kun who rolls his eyes.

“Now, I don’t know about you guys but I am feeling good because I just won a bet and now have the cash to pay for alcohol. Granted, it’s like seven am, but later tonight let's just get wasted,” Kun says. “It’s like five hours to Milwaukee so Doyoung can drive us and we’ll find a place to stay there and we can shower before hitting a bar.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

═══════•°•⚠️•°•═══════

4th Newspaper Article

If there’s one city I’ll never visit it’s Minnaepolis. Strange thing to say, but people constantly go missing around there. This time it’s a pair of twins who went for a hike over two weeks ago. They are believed to be dead, but as soon as they were on the news, I could have told you that they would be dead.

I don’t have direct proof that the Scarlet Rings are involved here sadly as I’m never going back to Minneapolis. To get any proof would be a death sentence.

**_-Anonymous Writer, The Daily Tombstone_ **

**_Anonymous Writer has written many articles about The Scarlet Rings and has a degree in psychology._ **

Police Report from Minneapolis Police Department

**Case No:** MN-3296827459

**Date:** 12/9/22

**Reporting Officer:** S. Dong

**Prepared By:** S. Dong

**Incident:** Two twin teenagers (Dongju Son and Dongmyeong Son)have gone missing and have not been heard from in two weeks.

**Detail of Event:** They went for a hike up around Clearwater, and then never came back and none of their stuff has been found.

**Actions Taken:** Several search parties were conducted, but nothing was found.

**Summary:** Dongju Son and Dongmyeong Son disappeared into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments, kudos and ccs are always appreciated :D
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/occultclysms)   
>  [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.qa/carrotyeol)

**Author's Note:**

> if you enjoyed, leave a comment or some kudos; they mean a lot :3 or come yell at me on twitter about how chapter two needs to go up already <\3
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/carrotyeol)  
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.qa/carrotyeol)


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